The recipe prices will vary based on fluctuating grocery costs. Please use what is posted as a guide.
These Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses are a fun Christmas tradition that you’ll find yourself making year after year with family and friends. They’re easy to make and so fun to customize.
You can make eight Gingerbread houses for just about $2.49 per house! The entire set costs around $19.97 to make.
If you’d rather make a from-scratch version, then check out our traditional Homemade Gingerbread House recipe; it has step-by-step directions and a template.
Graham Cracker Gingerbread House
We love our tradition of making Homemade Gingerbread Houses each year. But let’s be honest, sometimes, we get too busy to make them from scratch.
However, we do not want to skip out on this super fun tradition. That is where this easier version comes in. This is a shortcut version of a classic tradition.
Using graham crackers to build your house and then decorating with frosting and candy can be a lot less stressful and just as fun as decorating the real thing.
Some people like to use a milk carton as a base for building the house around. Of course, we prefer to free-form it, but a milk carton works and may be an excellent option for those real little kiddos.
And sometimes, we have been known to hot glue our houses instead of icing them. But, hey, whatever works at the moment, right!?
These houses are fun for all ages and can be done at a gingerbread house decorating party with all your favorite candies for decorating or with just your own little (or big) ones at home.
Ingredients & Estimated Cost:
- 4 cups powdered sugar – $1.52
- 3 Tablespoons meringue powder – $1.62
- 5 Tablespoons water – $0.00
- 48 graham crackers – $2.40
- 16 ounces spice drops – $1.92
- 10 oz package peppermint rounds – $1.39
- 15.60 oz bag Skittles – $3.78
- 10 oz bag holiday M&Ms – $3.48
- 6.25 oz package Lifesavers hard candy – $2.38
- 6 oz box Good & Plenty candy – $1.48
To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained. The pricing for this recipe was updated in November 2022.
How To Make A Graham Cracker Gingerbread House
- First, make the icing by combining the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water in a large bowl. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
- Place the royal icing in a plastic decorator bag.
- Next, prepare the graham crackers for assembly in the house. You will need two crackers for each side, two for the roof, and a front and a back piece.
- Cut ¼ of the cracker off the side pieces as well as the front and back pieces. Cut at an angle to form a triangle on both the front and back pieces.
- Use the icing to attach the sides to the front and back crackers. Then attach the foot and let it sit for about fifteen minutes.
- Finally, decorate the houses with candy using royal icing as glue for the candy.
***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below.
RECIPE VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Feel free to substitute different candies with what you have on hand or your favorites.
- Our recipe uses homemade royal icing. While you can use storebought icing, we find that royal icing helps keep the graham cracker gingerbread crackers strong.
- To make the green trees seen in the pictures, tint royal icing green and cover sugar ice cream cones in the icing. Once they’re dry, dust them with powdered sugar.
STORAGE TIPS
Serve & Store: You can keep these at room temperature for about a month. Although if you’re going to let your kids eat the houses, It’s best if they’re eaten within a week of being made.
Freeze: Many candies used to decorate the houses sort of “melt” in the freezer. Therefore we do not recommend freezing the houses.
RECIPE FAQs
Grab some graham crackers, your favorite candy, and whip up a batch of this royal icing. That is all you need to make these fun and festive houses.
First, place a graham cracker on a cutting board. Then, use a serrated knife to softly saw through the graham cracker at the desired part of the cracker.
Each house will have six crackers. This gives you two for the roof, two for the sides, one cracker for the front, and one cracker for the back piece.
The cost per house is cheaper. While the kits from the store may be bigger in size than these graham cracker houses, homemade ones taste better, and you get to choose the candy you want to use for the houses!
We have included a recipe for homemade royal icing. It acts as the glue to hold the graham crackers together. We like using royal icing because it hardens quickly.
Get Kids Involved
Ages 2-3: This would be a fun activity to practice identifying shapes and sorting skills. Your child can practice naming the shapes of the graham crackers (triangles and rectangles) and the shapes of the candy (circles, etc.). Have your little one sort the candy by color or shape while you assemble the houses.Ages 4-5: Your child will love being able to use their creativity to decorate their little house with a variety of candy.
Ages 6-8: Guide their hands as you teach them how to cut the graham crackers correctly. They can also help use the pastry bag to assemble the houses.Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe.
Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe unsupervised while you do the happy dance in the corner!
Budget Tips
Get together with friends or family to make these gingerbread houses. Have everyone bring one or two bags of candy to contribute and share. The price of the recipe will go down considerably if you share the cost of the candy.
More Christmas Recipes
- Christmas Fudge
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Peppermint Dip
- Homemade Peanut Brittle
- Chocolate Mint Cookies
- Peppermint Pie
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Copycat Chick-Fil-A Peppermint Shake
- Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
Recipe Cost 19.97 Serving Cost 2.49Equipment
- measuring cups
- handheld mixer or Stand mixer
- Measuring spoons
- Decorating Pastry Bags
- Coupler
- Wilton Leaf Decorating Tip
- chef's knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
ROYAL ICING:
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 Tablespoons meringue powder
- 5 Tablespoons water
FOR THE HOUSES:
- 48 graham crackers
- 16 ounces spice drops
- 10 oz package peppermint rounds
- 15.6 oz bag Skittles
- 10 oz bag holiday M&Ms
- 6.25 oz package Lifesavers hard candy
- 6 oz box Good & Plenty Candy
Instructions
MAKE THE ROYAL ICING:
- Add sifted powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl.
- Beat at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer the royal icing to a plastic decorator bag. Use 2 bags if you are adding snow to the houses.
CUT GRAHAM CRACKERS:
- You will need 2 graham crackers for each side, 2 for the roof, and a front and a back for each house.
For the basic house:
- Roof pieces – use full graham cracker
- Side pieces – cut ¼ off of each graham cracker
- Front and back pieces – cut ¼ off each, then cut at an angle to form a triangle
ASSEMBLE HOUSES:
- Using the royal icing, attach the sides to the front and back pieces.
- Then attach the roof pieces.
- Let the icing set for about 15 or until hardened.
DECORATE GRAHAM CRACKER HOUSES:
- Decorate the houses with candy using the royal icing.
- To make the snow, pipe on small leaf shapes, then let the icing fall slightly onto the house.
Alisa Infanti says
These were so fun to make with the kids this weekend and I loved that it was so easy to break off a piece if I needed to vs a harder cookie.
MJ says
This was such a fun holiday activity to do with the whole fam, and your tips were super helpful. Thank you!
Jenn says
$1.84 per gingerbread house!? That’s a steal of a deal thank you!!! Cannot wait to make them!
Maria San Juan says
Would love to make this with my kids! I am so excited! Thanks for sharing!
Heather Johnson says
love these – i am NOT a baker – so gingerbread is not my bag – but this is something i can handle! they’re so cute – this will be so fun for the kids this year!
Adrianne says
These are cute and fun and no doubt kids would love them also! I love the budget friendly tips and array of colours and textures.
Mandy Applegate says
These gingerbread houses are just SO cute!
Dannii says
This is such a great idea to make little gingerbread houses. I can’t wait to try it with my kids.
Maria San Juan says
I would really love to make this with my children! Looks very fun!
Tara says
Oh how cute! I love how you made the gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. Such a fun and festive treat for the holidays.
gabby says
Can I make the frosting ahead of time and store in a plastic Ziplock bag? Or will it get hard if I make it the night before?
Jess Jankowski says
We would not recommend making it ahead of time as it hardens quickly.
MacKenzie says
Love this! Can’t wait to make these with my 4 year old.
Charla says
Oh wow! Who knew that graham crackers could make such awesome gingerbread houses? I shall be trying this one with my niece next week.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
Such a fun way to keep the kids entertained at Christmas or have a competition too. So much quicker and cheaper too.
Katherine says
This is a genius way to make a gingerbread house quickly!
Lisa says
I have been making these for years with my kids and now my grandkids. You can make the royal icing a few hours in advance if you put them in a bowl with a damp towel underneath the icing bags and a damp towel over top. We have had so much fun making these over the years and the kids have made houseboats and Churches and trucks and bars.