Christmas is a time when even the most austere iconoclasts have at least one or two pretty little traditions they hark back to. Everything from purchasing expensive tree ornaments to serving the homeless the big public dinner on the day. Some individuals and families have taken up building a yearly Gingerbread House. Generally a cute, creative, fun event with a lot of baking and sticky globs of icing involved.

For those who want to go a step further with their Gingerbread House tradition, here are several ideas that you can pull out next Christmas:

1. 1. Gingerbread House Decorating Parties: Gather friends or family to decorate gingerbread houses together.

1. 2. Gingerbread House Competitions: Host a friendly competition to see who can create the most elaborate or festive gingerbread house.

1. 3. Gingerbread House Workshops: Attend workshops where experts teach techniques for creating stunning gingerbread houses. If you can't attend the workshops, there are always a lot of workshops on YouTube and elsewhere online.

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2. 4. Gingerbread House Tours: Some communities organize tours of gingerbread houses, showcasing creative and artistic designs. If this appeals to you, and you don't have such a thing in your community, maybe you could organize one? Maybe even just on your street to share in your blog or on Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest?

1. 5. Gingerbread House Contests: Participate in local or online contests to showcase your gingerbread house masterpiece. Above is Bailey Mardell, a young creator from Saskatchewan who baked up and decorated this dream home for the "Bake From Scratch" contest. At this point, you can still VOTE in the "Greatest Baker" contest for Bailey's house.

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3. 6. Gingerbread House Kits: Purchase gingerbread house kits that include all the necessary components for easy assembly. (Amazon affiliate link above)

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5. 7. Gingerbread House Displays: Visit public spaces, like malls or community centers, bake shops, museums, featuring displays of professionally crafted gingerbread houses.

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1. 8. Gingerbread House Ornaments: Hang miniature gingerbread houses as ornaments on the Christmas tree. The one in the picture above is plastic.

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3. Gingerbread House centerpiece

   
   

4. 9. Gingerbread House Centerpieces: Use gingerbread houses as edible centerpieces for holiday tables.

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1. 10. Gingerbread House Advent Calendars: Create or purchase advent calendars with mini gingerbread houses for each day leading up to Christmas.

1. 12. Gingerbread House Photo Booths: Set up a festive photo booth with gingerbread house props for holiday gatherings.

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3. Giving Gingerbread House themed Gifts

   
   

4. 12. Gingerbread House Themed Gifts: Give gingerbread house kits or related baking tools as Christmas gifts.

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