Growing up, we never made gingerbread houses for the holiday, but in recent years, they have become quite the fun tradition my children and I have enjoyed. We used to buy those pricey kits from the store. While they are fun, they are not necessary. If you’re looking to save money this holiday season or just looking for a fun activity with the family, here is how to make a gingerbread house out of graham crackers.

how to make a gingerbread house out of graham crackers

We purchased our graham crackers and icing from Aldi. Then, the kids and I took a trip to the dollar store. There, I let them pick out some candies and small toys to create their houses. Each house cost around $3 a piece to make. $3 versus around $15 per kit is pretty good!

Looking for more ways to save this holiday season? Check out How to Save More Money During the Holiday Season!

How to Make a Gingerbread House Out of Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

1 box graham crackers
1 can frosting
candy to decorate with

fun toys to create scenes check the dollar store or your toy box!

Instructions:

Place one full graham cracker on a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to carefully cut diagonally across the top half as shown (a gently sawing motion works best). Cut diagonally the other way so the graham cracker has a triangle shape on top. Repeat with a second graham cracker.
Cut the other two graham crackers in half so you have four graham cracker halves and two graham cracker halves with triangle shapes on top (they will support the roof).

Lay one roof support cracker in between two graham cracker halves. Pipe a line of melted white chocolate (or royal icing) down each side of the graham cracker halves.
Fold up each graham cracker half and press it again the edges of the roof support cracker. Hold for about a minute, then carefully lift up all three crackers to a standing position and insert the other roof support cracker.
You now have the four walls put together. Pipe frosting along the top edges of all four crackers and place the two remaining cracker halves on as a roof, piping additional frosting along the peak of the roof.

Let house stand for at least 10 minutes to set up, and then decorate with candy as desired.

Tips: You can speed the setting up process by putting the house in the fridge.

If working with small children, you can make these ahead of time and let them decorate. That will likely be their favorite part anyways!

How to Make a Gingerbread House Out of Graham Crackers

Learn our easy and budget-friendly method for making graham cracker gingerbread houses without the expensive store bought kits!

Prep Time30

Materials

1 box graham crackers
1 can frosting

candy to decorate with
fun toys to create scenes check the dollar store or your toy box!

Instructions

Place one full graham cracker on a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to carefully cut diagonally across the top half as shown (a gently sawing motion works best). Cut diagonally the other way so the graham cracker has a triangle shape on top. Repeat with a second graham cracker.

Cut the other two graham crackers in half so you have four graham cracker halves and two graham cracker halves with triangle shapes on top (they will support the roof).
Lay one roof support cracker in between two graham cracker halves. Pipe a line of melted white chocolate (or royal icing) down each side of the graham cracker halves.
Fold up each graham cracker half and press it again the edges of the roof support cracker. Hold for about a minute, then carefully lift up all three crackers to a standing position and insert the other roof support cracker.

You now have the four walls put together. Pipe frosting along the top edges of all four crackers and place the two remaining cracker halves on as a roof, piping additional frosting along the peak of the roof.
Let house stand for at least 10 minutes to set up, and then decorate with candy as desired.