![Best gingerbread kits displayed on marble kitchen counter](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/ln1cR3fnHt2RrZNqvCgNrQj-RJc=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/gingerbread-house-build-testing-tstaples-061-09a5a5d6cb8e4b99ae4e49af0fe9152b.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
The holiday season is filled with baking and eating tasty desserts, and one of the most fun ways to get in the festive spirit is by building and decorating a gingerbread house. Gingerbread houses are decorations and desserts all rolled into one, and they make a great activity for adults and kids. Baking and building one from scratch can be quite time-consuming, however, and you'll need some serious pastry skills. That's why gingerbread kits have become so popular—all you have to do is assemble.
There are gingerbread kits for all levels of bakers and decorators, including some houses that come completely premade, and ones with special themes for everyone from the dog lover to the gamer. Some kits come with everything you might need and some involve a little more work on your end—read the packages carefully. Gingerbread kits tend to sell out quickly each year, though, so be sure to make your selection early.
Here at The Spruce Eats, we've been testing gingerbread houses for more than three years and we now consider ourselves experts. Our takeaways? Most gingerbread kits are more about the activity and design than the taste (but there are a few exceptions); building a gingerbread house isn't always as easy as it looks (and can be quite humbling); and, finally, it's always good to have extra icing on hand. Here are the best gingerbread kits in a variety of categories, according to our gingerbread architects—er—editors.
Best Overall
Hasbro Candy Land Gingerbread House Kit
This is our tried-and-true favorite year after year. What's not to love? You get to relive a favorite childhood game with a fully edible Candy Land gingerbread house set. The kit includes prebaked gingerbread house walls and roof, premade icing to help decorate and keep everything together, and candies that come in different shapes and colors, like jewels, stars, sprinkles, fruity gummies, and swirled mints. It's definitely easy enough for a child to build and decorate. And the end result is exactly how a gingerbread house should look: festive, fun, and completely decked out in candy. Adults and kids alike will love the fact that the kit has everything you need in it to make a fun and colorful gingerbread house, although there is no piping bag included for the icing.
The only real qualm we had during testing was that we wished there had been more royal icing. You'll have enough to make sure the front of the house is pretty, but the sides and back didn’t get much more than basic decorating with the icing supplied in the kit. Luckily, that's an easy fix—just buy or make more of your own royal icing. After building and decorating in our test, we were pleased with the end result but think you could always add more candies—since that is the theme.
As for taste? We found the gingerbread cookie pieces to be mild and pleasant (great for kids who may not want strong ginger flavor) and the icing had a slightly buttery flavor in addition to the vanilla. The spice drops had a nice flavor and the mint candies were standard peppermint, but the sprinkles, balls, and stars were just colored and flavored sugar.
Includes: Pre-baked gingerbread panels, icing, candies, gummies, sprinkles, paper cutouts, and tray
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
Runner-Up, Best Overall
Sweetology Gingerbread House Decorating Kit
This gingerbread house kit from Sweetology wowed us with its décor. It was one of the most fun houses to build (and we've tried a lot!). It comes with a ton of cute candy for decorating, including gummy penguins, candy cane sprinkles, and colorful chocolates that perfectly resemble Christmas lights. And the house itself was easy to assemble—the pieces are interlocking like puzzle pieces so it comes together smoothly. It comes with fondant too, which is a nice fancy touch. The fondant was surprisingly easy to work with and mold into windows for the house.
The house is easy enough for kids to tackle, but it will also keep the adults entertained. The biggest appeal is all the candy and sprinkles for decoration—you can really go all out! We think it's perfect for any aspiring pastry chef or artist who wants to get creative with this sweet holiday treat.
Our only complaint was that the frosting it came with could have been a little bit stronger; it didn’t feel quite sticky enough to hold everything together sometimes. It also did not come with a base, which would have been helpful. We assembled the house on a piece of cardboard, which worked fine, but a base would be a nice touch.
Includes: Interlocking gingerbread house, 8-ounce royal icing, 1/2 pound of sprinkles and candy
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
Best Village
Wilton Build-It-Yourself Mini Gingerbread Village
Wilton makes some of our favorite gingerbread houses year after year, and there are always new themes and designs. This village—with four miniature gingerbread houses—is particularly fun because you can put it together solo or turn it into a group activity. The set includes everything you need to make the tiny buildings. The four mini gingerbread homes are about 3 to 4 inches high, so the walls and roofs may be a bit delicate, but even if the pieces break, they can be glued back together pretty easily with icing.
This kit also comes with four types of candy and icing to decorate, and you can always add more candy to your liking. We didn't wait the recommended 1 hour to let things dry and everything still held up well. Besides one roof piece breaking slightly, we found the cookies very sturdy. We wished for more detailed instructions, and we definitely think an adult would need to be involved to set up the houses. Pro-tip for parents of young children: Build the houses the night before and have the kids decorate the village the next day. The fun of this kit really comes with decorating and not necessarily the building stage.
We wished for more icing (and the fondant was more annoying than anything else—it will stain your hands!). There is enough icing to make sure the fronts of the houses are pretty, but the sides and back won't get much more than basic decorating with the icing supplied in the kit. Luckily, that's an easy fix—just buy or make more of your own icing. As far as taste goes, our tester found the spice flavors obvious, with a hint of molasses. The cookies weren’t overly sweet on their own, which worked out since the decorations added more sweetness. However, we'd still recommend this more for the craft aspect than the dessert aspect.
Includes: 4 sets of gingerbread house panels, 3 types of candy, green fondant, red and white ready-to-use icing, 2 decorating bags and tips, and instruction sheet
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
Best for Hershey's Lovers
Create a Treat Hershey's Gingerbread Kit
If you're a classic Hershey's lover, this gingerbread kit is for you. It's not the fanciest of the houses we built, but our gingerbread architect liked its clear instructions and simplicity. It also includes a sturdy base, which makes building convenient. The only Hershey’s specific parts are the rooftop Kisses and Hershey’s bars, though there are extra for snacking during the process. We definitely wish it came with even more Hershey's decorations (if you want to add a little something extra, we like these candy cane mint kisses).
Like all gingerbread houses that come with a bag of icing, you need a lot of it to get the house to hold together, and the bag popped twice from pressure during the building process. We'd suggest having some extra icing on hand, and maybe a pastry bag or two. Create a Treat gives this gingerbread kit a skill level of 2 (low-medium easy), and we agree with that assessment.
Includes: Pre-made Hershey's chocolate cookies, icing, base, candies
![Person icing the side of a Create a Treat Hershey's Build Your Own Cookie House Gingerbread Kit](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/Ln5pj4r-HujLRggOVdAERwrgu9I=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/hersheysgingerbread-house-build-tstaples-032-3022034ce3c74dc38bd544fa8fed19f6.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
Sensitive Sweets Bakery specializes in desserts that are allergy-friendly, and this gingerbread kit is vegan and free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, oats, and sesame. It's also the gingerbread kit we ranked highest in taste in our tests. We found most gingerbread kits offer just average taste, but this one really wowed us—in fact, it tasted homemade.
Everything you should need comes with the Deluxe kit, but note that the Basic version is missing the frosting and candies. The quality of the kit itself is outstanding. We thought the pieces were heavy, but that said, the kit provided adhesive frosting that was very efficient. It dried quickly, too. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before moving on to the next side.
The directions are easy to follow and contain helpful tips to help you succeed, particularly the idea of having mason jars on deck to hold up the heavy gingerbread sides as you go so the house doesn't collapse. We never worried about the gingerbread sides actually cracking because the gingerbread cookie consistency was closer to that of a soft cookie rather than having a hard exterior. None of the sides needed trimming either so this is a kit we would recommend for kids and adults. It's also the best-tasting gingerbread house kit we tried.
Includes: Gingerbread cookie walls and roof, icing mix for connecting walls, plastic holiday trees, and rings for decoration
![Sensitive Sweets Gluten-Free & Vegan Gingerbread House Kit on a kitchen counter](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/6W7PRl-ssKnHyRj-oRy5icEDL04=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sensitive-sweets-gingerbread-kit-nick-kova-00007-40a2e92fa2124c88b07e2e7390dd7d07.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
Best Cookie Cutter Set
Crafty Cooking Kits Ninjabread Cookie Kit
While this kit may not be the standard gingerbread house, it’s super cool because it actually includes all sorts of fun gingerbread ninjas. These fighting gingerbread men are taking back Christmas one deliciously funny ninja at a time. The kit includes a gingerbread mix and plastic molds so that you can create your own custom scenes, just note that the mix requires the addition of softened butter and honey along with a little water.
The kit has all the standard fixings, like icing, piping bags, and candy beads. These kits make between 10 and 20 ninja-bread men, so everyone in the family can have their own custom silly cookies, and because the molds are reusable, you can make them all year round with different cookie doughs if you want. This may be something you want to do off the bat, actually, as we noted the dough included with the kit is kind of hard and not very flavorful.
Instructions say the mix is enough for 20 cookies, but even though we rolled the dough as thin as possible, we only got 19 ninjas and a little leftover blob for tasting. Unfortunately, because the cookies were so thin, a few extra seconds in the oven overbaked some, and two lost a leg after baking. The final count included 17 full cookies to decorate, but we still decorated the one-legged ninjas and gave them candy canes so they could limp along.
Includes: Cookie mix, royal icing mix, candy beads, piping bags, (4) ninja cookie cutters
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie
Best for Homemade Baking
Nordic Ware Gingerbread House Bundt Pan
If you really want to go all out on your gingerbread house this year, and you are determined to build the whole thing from scratch, this bundt pan is the perfect option. It comes with a set of instructions with some handy notes such as the type of cooking spray or fats to use for easy releasing and a sample recipe.
For our test, we used our own gingerbread house dough recipe and doubled it, filling up the pan about 3/4 of the way full. After baking, we let it cool for 3-4 hours because it's so dense and we wanted to be sure it had cooled thoroughly. Our gingerbread released easily and then we got to decorating. We were impressed with the end result—both in looks and taste.
Includes: Bundt pan, instructions, sample recipe
![Cake made from the Nordic Ware Gingerbread House Bundt Pan on a kitchen counter](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/4U3cpBZIpODVjxGeDnBNdWRkhZ0=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/nordic-ware-gingerbread-house-bundt-pan-nick-kova-00006-dd70e723032c42b089463b5adeef6223.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
Create-a-Treat kits are incredibly popular for cookie houses of all holidays. We've tried a few ourselves and love the dependability and versatility of the brand. This particular kit is all about the beloved Oreo cookie. Not only does it include the black and white cookies, but the cookie walls taste like Oreos and the icing that holds it all together tastes like the famed cream. Additionally, the kit comes with candies for decoration, a blue icing pen, and a little cookie man eager to play in the snow.
Includes: Chocolate cookie house panels, white icing packet, blue icing pen, assorted candies, cookie man, cookie tree, EZ build tray
Best Aesthetic
Williams Sonoma Gingerbread House Kit
Part of the fun of building a gingerbread house is the process, but the end result is also satisfying: you'll have a gorgeous holiday decoration. Williams Sonoma has a stunning gingerbread house available, complete with all the accoutrements needed to make a truly one-of-a-kind house. The cookie pieces interlock for a nice, sturdy build. There are also imprinted details, like shingles, windows, and a door, that you can fill with the included icing. Colorful candy pieces add some brightness (and taste) to the kit. You'll go gaga over the gumdrops, star-shaped sprinkles, candy rounds, and chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.
Includes: 6 cookie panels, white icing, gumdrops, star sprinkles, assorted candy rounds, holiday sprinkle mix, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds
People with dietary restrictions don't have to miss out on the gingerbread house fun. This particular kit from Erin McKenna bakery is vegan, gluten-free, Kosher, soy-free, and naturally sweetened. It comes with six hefty pieces of gingerbread for the house, already prepared and pre-cut with handy instructions for assembly. The icing is easy to prepare with a whisk and a little bit of water. The candies—including gumdrops, candy canes, sprinkles, and more—are also vegan. The whole kit will give you peace of mind while you build and listen to carols about peace on Earth. It's definitely a splurge, but you're paying for quality.
Includes: 6 gingerbread house pieces, sugar icing mix, gumdrops, assorted candies, candy canes, sprinkles
Best for Families
Baketivity Gingerbread House Baking Kit
Many holiday memories are made in the kitchen. The Baketivity Gingerbread House Baking Kit is a wonderful activity for the whole family to enjoy. The kit provides everything you need to make a delicious gingerbread house from start to finish. All of the ingredients are pre-measured and the instructions are easy-to-follow for young bakers. Let your imagination run wild when it comes to decorating, or follow a video guide for inspiration.
Includes: Flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, brown sugar, vanilla sugar, confectioners sugar, sprinkles, icing bags, cookie stencil, instructions, video guide link, activity sheet
If you want to take a more hands-on approach to building a gingerbread house, take a look at this fantastic collaboration between King Arthur and Supernatural. The kit includes just about everything you need to make a festive gingerbread house or an entire chorus of gingerbread carolers.
The gingerbread mix and white icing mix comes from the King Arthur half of the collab, while the wide array of sprinkles, two colorful frostings, and some baking chips come from Supernatural. There's also a voucher redeemable for Vital Farms eggs and butter to help bake the cookies. While you'll need to provide your own cutters, this wonderful bundle is a fantastic starting point to make some seriously glamorous gingerbread creations.
Includes: Gingerbread mix, white icing mix, forest green frosting, fruit punch red frosting, holiday baking chips, Christmas Softie sprinkles, Jingle Pop sprinkles, Into the Woods sprinkles, Ugly Xmas Sweater sprinkles, voucher for Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs and unsalted butter.
Final Verdict
For a festive blast into the past and a classic design that will bring all ages cheer, we recommend the Hasbro Candy Land Gingerbread House Kit. For quality candies and tons of variety, we loved the Sweetology Gingerbread House Decorating Kit. This one you can really make your own, and kids, as well as creative adults, will get into the fun.
![People smiling while making gingerbread houses at a table](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/h5HMw54Q44U7W2pqxBXgQvSiC94=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dotdash-test-lab-gingerbread-kits-build-nick-kova-00511-2e3c1336c2654fa0b34e5524e1f79b69.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
How We Tested
For over three years, we've been testing popular gingerbread house kits. Our editors have done two rounds of side-by-testing in addition to sending samples out to the festive homes of our experienced gingerbread architects (aka, product testers). We looked at features like quality, ease of assembly, and taste. However, we quickly ruled out taste as a deal-breaker. Most gingerbread kits are designed with aesthetics in mind (although we did find a clear winner in the taste category). We've compiled our years of data and thorough knowledge on the subject for this year's list, which includes our tested and approved favorites and some newcomers we know you'll enjoy.
![Gingerbread houses made from gingerbread kits on a kitchen counter](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/QoxMTPjDxgleLWYbBn093b11-lk=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/group-gingerbread-kit-nick-kova-00018-1fe50aa34f3a4174a4221461e7baa316.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
What to Look for in a Gingerbread Kit
Difficulty
Gingerbread kits come in all different varieties. Some come completely prebuilt so all you have to do is decorate with the included frosting and candies. Some require only basic assembly, and others require shaping and trimming of cookie pieces to get the exact fit. If this is going to be an activity for younger kids, you'll want to check out how much measuring and precision is involved.
![People decorating gingerbread houses at a table](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/gxjWgYF1yOPLGeWfIOZXRV41TtE=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dotdash-test-lab-gingerbread-kits-build-nick-kova-00461-f708489542374c36ae53e2b1a297b66d.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
Items Included
Be sure to note what comes with your kit. Some require you to supply your own icing, for example. Others suggest having some basics like confectioner's sugar or a piping bag. It can be fun to get your own candy and extra decorations for your house, but if you're looking for simplicity, some kits have everything you need in one package.
![Person decorating a gingerbread house](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/27EuMhHccWwxJ1NAEFag0oZcHvA=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dotdash-test-lab-gingerbread-kits-build-nick-kova-00538-6ddf7344e76e46048b914eeb1d86ba73.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Nick Kova
Taste
Most gingerbread kits tend to focus on the assembly and decorating process, and the taste of the actual cookie pieces can be just average. If you really want homemade taste, you can always buy a cake mold to make your own from scratch. That being said, there is quite a variety of options out there these days and some kits come with some pretty tasty gingerbread. You can also find options for special diets, like vegan or gluten-free.
![People decorating gingerbread houses at table](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/g09D20ONB9q2lLUzZpfJ9KuJy-M=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/gingerbread-house-build-tstaples-010-a8c7dd16f2e148cfafc839694c8fa946.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
FAQs
What comes in a gingerbread house kit?
While each gingerbread house kit is different, there are common pieces you’ll find in most options. There are gingerbread panels that serve as the walls and roof, icing for “glue” and decoration, candy pieces, like peppermints, chocolates, gumdrops, or licorice, and sprinkles.
![Gingerbread house pieces from the Favorite Day Target Store Cookie Kit](https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/wpMuyy9KH_jI-Hfq0tDqoGsBl5g=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/gingerbread-house-build-tstaples-014-ac62ad8423ca4edbbd9460b6d3f9dcb7.jpg)
The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples
Can you eat gingerbread house kits?
For the most part, gingerbread kits are edible. From the gingerbread houses to the frosting and candies included. Keep in mind that some kits do include little plastic or cardstock figures as decoration, and those should not be consumed.
How long do gingerbread house kits last?
In regards to how long an unopened gingerbread kit can last, most have a one-year-long shelf life before it goes bad. Be sure to check the expiration date. Of course, building and eating sooner rather than later will result in a fresher taste.
In terms of how long a gingerbread house will last once built, most kits will last a week or two before becoming inedible (or at least really dried out and tough).
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Mary Kate Hoban is an Associate Editorial Director at The Spruce Eats. After spending months researching the best gingerbread kits, she also went to The Lab for a full day of testing them side by side (two years in a row!). She finds it tough to pick a favorite but the Wilton Gingerbread Corgi Doghouse Kit was almost too cute to eat.
Allison Wignall, who updated this article, is a writer who focuses on food and travel. During her globetrotting she has tasted some of the sweetest confections–from macarons in Paris to fresh gourmet chocolates in Ecuador. Her work has been featured in publications including Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, and Southern Living.