1. Buy a box of gingerbread mix from a grocery store and follow the instructions, making sure the bread is flat and strong enough to be able to hold up all the candy. Graham crackers or cardboard work also. If using, skip to step 4.

2. Maximum thickness of the dough should be about ⅜ inches. For houses that are larger than six inches, use ¼ inch thickness and for houses smaller than that use ⅛ inches.

3. Cut templates out of cardboard or poster-board for the structure of the house. To make sure it will be able to stand alone, tape the templates together. If the templates can stand alone, the house will most likely stay together.

4. For a base, use a baking tray, if you want you can have it filled with gingerbread, but that is not necessary. Make sure you can move the base around easily just in case you have to transfer it someplace else.

5. If using icing, spread on lightly, and if the icing proves to be too thick add water to help thin it out. Let the icing completely dry before assembling.

6. Add icing to the sides of the house using a pastry bag full of thick icing. Let the structure sit for 20-30 minutes before “gluing” the structure together.

7.  When placing the sides together, add icing to the top or bottom of one side of a wall. Do not add too much icing so that it drips, but add enough so the structure stays together well enough. If you want more stability, feel free to glue the bottom of the walls to the base.

8. Any smudges can easily be fixed by using a wet paper towel and lightly cleaning up the mess, or adding candy to the spots.

9. To add decorations such as candy or cut outs from the left over dough, simply add icing to the back side of the object and hold in place for as long as you see fit.