It’s that time of the year again! Every December I hold an annual gingerbread house making party and it is one of my favorite parties of the whole year! I invite a close group of girlfriends (usually no more than 5-6 of us!) and we sit and build gingerbread houses, drink cozy cocktails and watch Christmas movies. It’s honestly one of the coziest nights my house sees all year.
The first year I had a gingerbread house building party I swore to myself that I would do it again and again. I love a good “white elephant” or “secret Santa” party as much as the next person but my gingerbread house party requires no gifts and is a very relaxing evening in the midst of December chaos.
You don’t need a huge space or spend hours making gingerbread houses for everyone! The trick to a great gingerbread house making party is lots of decorating supplies! I start out with setting up a long table for everyone to build on and each person receives a gingerbread kit.
This year I’m using Wilton’s Gingerbread A-Frame house kit! I love them because they look a little bit more modern than normal gingerbread houses and they come with tons of fun toppings! Down the center of the table I put lots of colorful candies into small bowls for my girlfriends to get inspired by and pick and choose from.
To make things a bit more colorful I also slid in Wilton’s colored candy melts, icing and festive sugar decorations. I always give everyone an incentive to get super creative by giving a prize away. I usually opt for a gift card to Anthropologie or bottle of champagne. It’s a simple token, but it really gets people in the mood!
Any girl will tell you that all craft days need really great snacks! For this years party, I’m setting up the ultimate spiked hot chocolate bar. To keep my ladies fueled I made a big batch of bourbon spiked hot chocolate and put out tons of fun toppings to make it their own.
Things like marshmallows, sprinkles, syrups and whipped cream work great! I use Simply Baked’s red holiday baking cups for all my hot chocolate toppings (less dishes to wash!) and cover my syrup bottles with wrapping paper so they look more festive!
This holiday season turn your living room or dining room into a gingerbread house-building workshop!
