Gingerbread Houses for Preschoolers

When I was a kid there was always a mom who would bring in these graham cracker houses to decorate at Christmas time. I always remember being so excited when she would come to our classroom. I have wonderful childhood memories of decorating those houses. I knew that when I became a mom I would be making graham cracker houses for my kids. And maybe my kids will pass it on and if not my kids, maybe another kid will have wonderful memories and pass those traditions on.

I brought these into my son's preschool class about 2 weeks before Christmas and the kids had a blast decorating them. To make the houses I put graham crackers together using royal icing (recipe below). You have to use royal icing to make them sturdy enough for kids to decorate. Regular icing will not hold these houses together. For the class, I put 1/2 a cup of buttercream in zip lock bags for the kids to use to decorate their houses. The teachers provided the candy and the rest is history. I stayed and helped the kids make their houses and the looks on their faces were priceless. I hope this is the beginning of some lifelong memories.