Gingerbread House Decorating Party Ideas

One of my favorite holiday traditions is making a gingerbread house. But it's always more fun with friends, so today we are sharing how to host a gingerbread house decorating party for kids .

This post is sponsored by Wilton . All opinions are my own.

A gingerbread house decorating party is a fun activity for kids to do with their friends during the holidays. It requires little prep and the kids have a blast.

Our gingerbread house decorating party for kids was super simple to put together, thanks to Wilton Build-It-Yourself Gingerbread Mini Village Decorating Kit . Each kit contains four different mini gingerbread houses with all the supplies you need to make a gingerbread masterpiece.

We had about 16 kids at our party, ranging in ages from 3 to 11, so we only needed four of the kits to get our party started. Each kit comes with cookie pieces and everything you need to build, decorate, and display a three-dimensional holiday village.

But we couldn't help adding a few other supplies from Wilton:

Mini Candy Cane Edible Cupcake Toppers
Mini Snowman Icing Decorations
Mini Snowflake Icing Decorations
Holiday Sprinkles Mix
Green and Red Icing Set
White Ready to Use Icing Tube

We set up all the supplies on a large table in the front of the room, then made a workspace for each kiddo on their decorating tables.

The workspace included a paint palette for sprinkles, cake boards , and a plastic knife.

There were different pieces perfect for kids of all ages — we had three year olds who loved spreading the icing and adding candy embellishments.

We also had 10 year olds who enjoyed constructing the actual structures and decorating with more detail. There really was something to do for every kid!

And the mini village houses were the perfect size for kids. Too often, we've started decorating a gingerbread house and my son loses interest, so I end up having to finish it. Not with these! Every kid worked hard on their gingerbread house and proudly displayed their masterpiece at the end!

I loved to see the different styles the kids used when making their gingerbread houses. Some followed examples on the box and others used the supplies to make their own fun scene.

Tips to Make Your Gingerbread House Decorating Party for Kids a Success:

Prep your party area by laying down disposable tablecloths. When the party's over, simply wrap up the tablecloths and throw away the empty or leftover supplies.
Give each child a workspace where they can keep their supplies. We used a red piece of paper to separate the different spaces, with all the supplies ready at hand.
We used small paint palettes to store sprinkles and other decorations for each kid. This kept the portions reasonable but also ensured that we weren't spreading germs amongst our guests.
Invite children to help each other construct their houses — They can hold pieces for their friends while building, or help add embellishments to the finished structure.
Provide aprons or ask party guests to come in clothes they don't mind getting messy. Our kids had frosting and sprinkles everywhere — but that is part of the fun, right?!
And don't forget to take a picture of the finished projects before everyone goes home!

Our kids had an amazing time — you don't need to wait for a special occasion to host a cookie decorating party for kids! It makes a fun playdate or after school activity any time of year!

If you're looking for more gingerbread house decorating ideas, check out Wilton Christmas page !