How to Decorate a Gingerbread House: Ideas & Techniques
Decorating is one of the most fun parts of making a gingerbread house. It’s also where you can make your creation completely your own. You can keep things simple with white icing and a little powdered sugar, cover the entire house in candy, or spend hours piping tiny details onto every wall.
There really isn’t a right or wrong way to decorate a gingerbread house. But after making many gingerbread creations over the years, I’ve found that a little planning and decorating in the right order makes the process much easier.
Here are some of my favorite tips and ideas for decorating a gingerbread house.
1. Decorate Before You Assemble
One of my biggest tips is to do most of your decorating before assembling the gingerbread house.
Lay the baked pieces flat on your work surface and decorate the walls and roof individually. It’s much easier to pipe straight lines, create small details and attach candy when you’re working on a flat surface rather than trying to decorate a standing wall.
Let the icing dry before assembling the pieces.
You can then add the finishing touches once the house has been built.
2. Use Royal Icing for Decorating
Royal icing is my go-to for decorating gingerbread houses. You can use it to create everything from simple outlines to detailed patterns, roof tiles, icicles and snow.
The consistency of your icing makes a big difference. You want it firm enough that your decorations hold their shape instead of immediately spreading.
My tested royal icing recipe is included with every Sugar & Ginger template.
One important distinction: while I love royal icing for decorating, I don’t recommend it for assembling the structure itself. I use melted sugar instead because it creates a much stronger bond.
Read: How to Assemble a Gingerbread House With Melted Sugar →
3. Add Candy
Candy is probably the easiest way to add color and detail to a gingerbread house.
Use royal icing to attach pieces to walls and roofs. You can create patterns, borders and roof tiles or simply add candy wherever you think the house needs a little something extra.
You don’t have to cover the entire house, either. Sometimes a few carefully placed pieces look better than covering every available surface.
4. Create Doors and Windows
Doors and windows can completely change the character of a gingerbread house.
A door can be as simple as an outline piped with royal icing, or you can add details such as a doorframe, handle or wreath.
For windows, you can pipe them directly onto the gingerbread with icing. Or, if you want actual transparent windows, you can make them with melted hard candy or clear gelatin sheets.
Just remember that transparent windows need to be made before you assemble the house.
Read: How to Make Gingerbread House Windows →
5. Experiment With Piping
You don’t need complicated equipment to create detailed gingerbread decorations. A piping bag with a small opening can be used to make surprisingly intricate designs.
Try adding:
- Outlines around doors, windows and roof edges
- Dots, swirls and simple patterns
- Roof tiles or shingles
- Icicles hanging from the roof
- Snow along windowsills
- Wreaths and other Christmas details
If you’re new to piping, practice a few lines and patterns on baking paper first. It doesn’t need to be perfect — small imperfections are part of the charm of a handmade gingerbread house.
6. Add Snow
One of the easiest ways to make a gingerbread creation feel Christmassy is to add snow.
Royal icing works well for thicker snow along the roof, around windows and on the ground surrounding the house.
For a lighter dusting, use a mesh sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar over the finished creation. This gives the entire house a soft, snowy appearance in just a few seconds.
7. Decorate Around the House
The gingerbread house itself doesn’t have to be the entire creation.
You can create a small scene around it with gingerbread trees, fences and figures. Add candy, Christmas decorations or small holiday figurines to bring the scene to life.
If you’re making several gingerbread structures, you can even combine them into an entire gingerbread village.
8. Add Lights
If you’ve made transparent windows, adding lights inside the house is one of my favorite finishing touches.
Place a small battery-powered string of lights inside the finished house. When the room gets darker, the light shines through the windows and makes the entire creation feel much more magical.
Avoid candles or anything with an open flame.
Find Gingerbread House Decorating Inspiration
You don’t have to decide on your entire design before you start. Sometimes the best ideas come from seeing what other people have created.
Previous Sugar & Ginger customers have turned the same templates into completely different creations using their own icing designs, candy, colors and decorations.
See gingerbread houses made by Sugar & Ginger customers →
Ready to Make Your Own?
If you haven’t built your house yet, start with my How to Make a Gingerbread House: A Step-by-Step Guide for the complete process from preparing your template to adding the final touches.
Or, if you’re ready to choose your next project, browse all printable gingerbread templates →. Each template includes printable pieces, detailed instructions and my gingerbread dough and royal icing recipes.