DIY Gingerbread House with Blocks

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Every year my kids make their own gingerbread house. In my classroom, I always set up a center around the holidays for kids to build a decorate a gingerbread house together, just in case some of them have never made one before. It’s a fun and festive tradition. My students always enjoy, but once it’s build there’s not much you can do with it. So I decided to create our own DIY Gingerbread House with Blocks that kids can build, break and build again as many times as they want.

If you have young kids, you may already have wooden blocks on hand. They’re always a popular material for kids to play and build with. Turn some of your blocks into magical pieces of gingerbread that you can use throughout the season!

Even if your kids build with wooden blocks all the time throughout the year, turning them into gingerbread pieces makes them something new and special that kids will love creating with.

If you have a lot of wooden blocks, make sure to check out a building challenge, with free task cards, from Hands-On Teaching Ideas with this Free Building Block STEM Activity.

DIY Gingerbread House with Blocks

You don’t need many materials for this DIY project. All you need is:

Wooden Blocks
Brown Paint + Paint Brush
White Paint

wooden block activities shows a bin with blocks spilling out.

When you gather your wooden blocks, if you have some of various sizes and shapes, this will be ideal to use for your gingerbread houses. White paint works well to add what will look like icing, but I have also found that a Posca marker or a white out pen.

Creating Your Gingerbread Blocks

Start by painting each of your wooden blocks with brown paint. Fully cover each block.

Christmas activity for kids shows wooden blocks being painted to later look like pieces of a gingerbread house.

Once each piece is dry, add details to each block using the white paint pen. Your designs can be simple, like dots, or more intricate. Each block can have different designs or you can use the same patters on each. Add lots of white to make each piece stand out.

arts and crafts for kids shows wooden blocks that have been painted brown and then white designs on them.

The more pieces you create, the more elaborate of a gingerbread house children can create. I added a few felt gingerbread cutouts for children to play with as well.

diy gingerbread house with blocks shows a huge collection of blocks that have been painted.

Once all of your pieces are created and dried, children can start creating with them. They can build castles or home or simple structures for their gingerbread men. The more time, and pieces that kids have the more amazing their home will become.

The homes look great when put together. With the white paint resembling icing, the gingerbread houses will come together as the pieces are placed.

DIY Gingerbread House with Blocks

DIY Reindeer Critter

If you want to add another special character for kids to play with, along with their gingerbread homes, these reindeer critters and easy and allow for more imaginative play.

Holiday building activity shows wooden blocks that look like gingerbread pieces and a reindeer made from a wooden peg.

Use a wooden peg figure and paint it brown. Next, add eyes and antlers using pipe cleaners and hot glue. A little dot of red for a nose will complete your reindeer. These make great characters for the gingerbread homes for kids.

diy gingerbread house with blocks shows two reindeer looking critters made from wooden peg people.

If you’re looking for a unique holiday activity that kids will love, that’s screen-free, hands-on and promotes creativity, then this is it!