Decorating a Gingerbread House

 Decorating a gingerbread house is one of our favorite holiday traditions. I say "decorating" because that is the only fun part for kids. The baking and construction part should be done by the adults and at least a day ahead of time to allow time to dry.  I learned to the hard way one year when I tried to do this project with my niece and nephew. There was a lot of crying every time the house fell down. By the time I had my own children I had a foolproof system for making things proceed without tears. Here are some of my hints....

1. Make sure the structure is very sound before putting it in front of the child. They will press hard when gluing on the candy.
2. Open all candy packaging ahead of time and transfer a small quantity to a bowl or plate. Hide the rest. It is very difficult to convince a child that an entire bag of m&ms won't fit on the roof.
3. Make the icing pretty thick. Royal icing works best, but powdered sugar and water works just as well too. Just make sure it isn't runny. Store bought icing doesn't work well at all.
4. Give up on the idea of a story book ginger bread house and just go with whatever they want to do. It's easier to accept the sideways candy canes glued to the roof of the house then convince a three year old that they were supposed to adorn the doorway. 
5. Display the house for all to see, but make sure that it isn't within a child's reach.  One year my nephew made several meals out of the candy he picked off the house throughout the week. We didn't notice until Christmas day when we went to show visitors.