We are kicking around the idea of a zoom Graham cracker house kit birthday party. Where we would compile and drop off kits and the kids would build them over zoom (best buddy is on pretty serious lock down due to parent’s health.)
So if you were hosting a birthday party and wanted to make house building kits- what would you put in the kit???
Help me make this awesome for a bunch of 10 and 11yo kids!
Buy them at Walgreens, Trader Joe’s or Costco.
Making the royal icing is a pain in the ass.
Making a house with Graham crackers I would imagine being a pain in the ass and not house like
Finding all the candies possibly annoying but bagging them a pain in the ass
5 to 10 bucks per much less a pain in the ass
Making the royal icing is a pain in the ass.
Making a house with Graham crackers I would imagine being a pain in the ass and not house like
Finding all the candies possibly annoying but bagging them a pain in the ass
5 to 10 bucks per much less a pain in the ass
They are all in an engineering challenge class together. The PITA of designing and building it is part of the challenge. Tallest etc.
It really depends upon the age of the kids & your commitment.
Easiest for little kids: get small, school lunch size cartons of milk. Drink milk. Buy white frosting in the little plastic tub. Have kids put a layer of frosting on the exterior of a milk carton to glue on Graham crackers (2/3 of a cracker fits each side. The remaining 1/3 fits half the roof.) Get a variety of decorations: cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch are good for the roof. Dots, peppermint hard candies (choking hazard), twizzler, colorful candies.
If you want to bake gingerbread and cut out the houses, I have the recipe and pattern at home. It’s not that hard & it’s delicious. I’d still recommend getting the tub of frosting because it’s so easy & edible. Get the cereals & candy.
You’ve motivated me. I’m at the store & will buy the ingredients.
ETA: Now I re-read your post & none of what I said is really helpful. I’ll go look at the candies. Marshmallows are kind of fun. Maybe peppermint sticks will help provide structural support. Get lots.
Making the royal icing is a pain in the ass.
Making a house with Graham crackers I would imagine being a pain in the ass and not house like
Finding all the candies possibly annoying but bagging them a pain in the ass
5 to 10 bucks per much less a pain in the ass
They are all in an engineering challenge class together. The PITA of designing and building it is part of the challenge. Tallest etc.
Are they baking the gingerbread? The already baked Graham crackers would be really hard to cut into shapes
Change it up
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/charcuterie-chalets/
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This is a pretty common kids’ contest.
Here’s a Chicago based one.
Start training your little one.
Pocky.
I watched a video the other day in which someone made gingerbread houses out of pop tarts instead of graham crackers.
Anyway, gumdrops are a must, I think.
M&M’s, skittles, gum drops, red hots, Lemon Heads, peppermint wheels, candy canes (large and small), Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Golden Grahams for roofing material, the red/white striped Hershey’s Kisses, powdered sugar (snow), sour sticks to form trees, SO MANY FUN OPTIONS!!
Get powdered royal icing that the kids just have to add water to.
What a great idea. Hope you all have fun!
give all the kids BB guns so they can shoot the houses to pieces afterward.
My mom used to do this with all the grandkids and she always assembled the houses first. Once the houses are assembled they are pretty robust, with gingerbread anyway, and the fun is in the decorating.
Classic candy decorations include red-hots, stick pretzels (think logs), candy-canes.
In reality, pretty much any candy can be used and I have seen some roofs entirely covered in skittles, m&m’s, snickers, butterfinger - really anything that is sweet.
It’s all about the candy. You need a good mix of pretzel rods, chocolate and candy.
Do you have a bulk Barn or similar? Christmas colors are good, bright colors are good. Gum drops are great, you can use them as is or cut them and use them as Christmas lights. You can get “rock candy” great for making paths. Bridge mix makes excellent chimneys.
It’s all about the candy. You need a good mix of pretzel rods, chocolate and candy.
Do you have a bulk Barn or similar? Christmas colors are good, bright colors are good. Gum drops are great, you can use them as is or cut them and use them as Christmas lights. You can get “rock candy” great for making paths. Bridge mix makes excellent chimneys.
Bulk Barn for the win. I used to make a gingerbread castle each year, and you can’t beat the variety of Bulk Barn plus the ability to just get a few of something instead of a whole bag.