The best gingerbread house kit overall
The larger the gingerbread house, the harder it is to make. And that's not because larger gingerbread houses require more decorations than their smaller counterparts, but rather because larger sheets of gingerbread tend to crack quite easily. If you and the kids want to build an edible holiday decoration that won't break apart during the construction phase, then smaller is always better.
And while the finished house you'll get from the Wilton Petite Gingerbread House Kit lives up to the adjective in its name, it's such a lovely little structure that you won't mind the diminutive size a bit. Besides, at 5.25 inches wide, 5.75 inches deep, and 4.5 inches tall, this tasty holiday house is the perfect size to serve as a centerpiece on the dining room table, to perch on a deep windowsill, or to rest on a countertop or shelf, adding charm and cheer and without taking up too much room.
The kit comes with colorful gumballs, gumdrops, hard candies, colored fondant, icing, and more, including, of course, panels of sweet and spicy gingerbread. Building the house shouldn't take more than a half hour and kids and adults alike can have a hand in the process.
The Wilton Petite Gingerbread House Kit scores a four out of five-star average rating on Amazon. One customer named Dana called it a sturdy "fun family Christmas project," while a customer named Joyce admitted that she and her family "had a blast building it" and then they "ate it."
A video reviewer with Disney Toy Wishes demonstrated the ease of building a Wilton gingerbread house using just the materials included in her kit, and the result was indeed lovely.
Pros: Easy to build, solid and sturdy design, great selection of decorations
Cons: Smaller than most other options
Buy the Wilton Petite Gingerbread House Kit on Jet for $26.76The best low-cost gingerbread house kit
You remember the beloved game Candyland from your childhood, right? Well, now you can relive the joys of moving a little game piece up that sweet, colorful road by building a Candyland-themed gingerbread house and then eating it!
OK, to be honest, nothing about this gingerbread house kit has anything to do with Candyland other than the fact that it's marketed as such and that you can cut a few characters out of the box itself to use as "scene setters."
But here's the thing: You're not buying this gingerbread house kit out of nostalgia for childhood game night, you're buying it because it costs less than fifteen bucks and comes with everything you need to create a lovely little holiday decoration that you can also, should you choose, consume.
In the kit, you'll find four walls, a roof, a chimney, an icing packet, and four kinds of candy. And of you choose to cut out the Candy King, Candy Fairy, and the two kids on the back of the box, you can add them to the festive tableau, too. Just don't eat them — they're made of cardboard.
A lady named Elizabeth who built a gingerbread house using the Candyland Gingerbread House Kit called the kit "perfect, cute, and cheap," though she did add that "there's nothing really Candyland about it."
But hey, $14.99, right? And you're going to eat it eventually, anyway. Or throw it out, so you'll get over the lack of classic game resemblance.
Pros: Low cost, multiple candies included, easy construction
Cons: Bares little relation to stated theme
Buy the Candyland Gingerbread House Kit at Bed Bath & Beyond for $14.99The best gingerbread kit for kids
Let's be honest, while decorating gingerbread houses is lots of fun, building the base gingerbread house can be time-consuming, painstaking, and overall frustrating. And if you think sticking together those walls and the roof with icing well enough that the structure actually stands is tricky as an adult, just imagine a kid trying to do it!
So skip the house building but don't skip the holiday gingerbread decoration by using the Wilton Gingerbread Cookie Kit. It comes with eight pre-baked and ready to decorate (and/or eat...) gingerbread cookies in classic "gingerbread man" shape and includes green and white ready-to-use icing, red fondant, and multiple kinds of candies in classic Christmas colors. Kids can be as detailed or as basic as they'd like with the decorating, and there's no worry about a roof cave in or wall collapse.
Oh, and by the way, Wilton also throws in an extra bag of multicolored jawbreaker candies, so use those on the cookies or just eat 'em.
An Amazon reviewer named Barbara raved about the Wilton Gingerbread Cookies Kit, calling it a "great item and price" and saying they were "easy to do," as well. However another shopper reported that many of the cookies in three kits she ordered arrived broken, so order with enough time to request replacements and/or be ready to do some surgical repair work using medical grade icing.
Pros: Very easy project, comes with multiple icing colors, extra candy bag included
Cons: Rather expensive, some cookies may arrive damaged
Buy the Wilton Gingerbread Cookie Kit on Amazon for $25.46The best DIY gingerbread house kit
OK, yes, in order to use the Juvale Gingerbread House Silicone Mold Kit to make your own gingerbread house, first you're going to need to master your gingerbread baking techniques. But don't worry: Before recommending this kit, I researched the process by reading through a host of different recipes, and it turns out it's not that hard to make gingerbread batter. Smoothing it into the molds perfectly every time might take a bit of practice, though.
Once you have the batter making and baking down pat, you can use the Juvale Gingerbread House Silicone Mold Kit again and again, making the best gingerbread houses of your life.
Not only does the kit come with molds for the standard six panels of a gingerbread house (two pieces of the roof, front, back, and sides, e.g.) but it also has a door, pine trees, a snowman, a reindeer and sleigh, and other baked decorations. When you use all the included shapes and add your own favorite candies and colored icing, your DIY gingerbread house won't rival store-bought options, it will far surpass them.
And in the long run, it's a lot cheaper to build gingerbread houses from scratch than to go with store-bought kits, too.
The Juvale Gingerbread House Silicone Mold Kit has a solid 4.4-star average rating on Amazon. One customer loves how the silicone molds "really hold the details and make the pieces easy to pop out," while others love how they could also be used for making shaped chocolate and gelatin treats.
A Mokey International write-up about the Juvale gingerbread mold kit notes that the durable silicone molds are safe for use in the "freezer, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and oven."
Pros: Makes detailed and lovely gingerbread panels, saves money over time, features unique accessory shapes
Cons: Requires separate purchase of all materials
Buy the Juvale Gingerbread House Silicone Mold Kit on Amazon for $17The best Hanukkah gingerbread kit
OK, let's get this out of the way at the start: The Chanukah House Cookie Decorating Kit is not technically a gingerbread house kit at all. The walls and roof of this little cottage are made from vanilla cookie dough, not gingerbread. But will it still make a charming and edible house that looks and tastes great? Yes, so I'm not going to get too hung up on it.
And besides, beyond the icing, sprinkles, candy beads, and decorative sugar you'd expect from any such kit, the Chanukah House Cookie Decorating Kit also comes with multiple dreidels, a dreidel spinner, and chocolate Hanukkah coins.
What's perhaps most notable about this kit, though, beyond the fact that it's not Christmas themed, is the fact that it comes with a large cookie base and sides with cut out slots and slats designed to fit together.
Once built and with icing dried, this holiday house will be sturdier than any other gingerbread house on the block, and easier to move around as needed, too.
When those eight days of celebration have ended, it will taste great, too. And yes, of course, it's kosher. Which you have the right to expect considering this unique holiday house kit costs almost forty bucks.
Pros: Unique take on holiday house, comes with dreidels, sturdy design
Cons: Expensive, not technically gingerbread
Buy the Chanukah House Cookie Decorating Kit on Amazon for $34.95Check out our other great Christmas decorating guides
A beautifully decorated home is part of the wonder of the holiday season. We've rounded up the best decorating essentials for your home to make it easier for you.
That's why we've gathered up the top suggestions for a wide range of Christmas décor. Whether you go all-out decorating for the holidays, or just stick with a tree covered with a few glass balls, we've got the best of the best for your holiday home.
Here are the best Christmas decorations you can buy:
- Best faux tree: National Tree Company's Douglas Fir
- Best tree stand: Krinner Tree Genie Christmas Tree Stand
- Best ornaments: Shop all ornaments at Target
- Best tree topper: Christmas Snowman Tree Hugger
- Best tree skirt: Valery Madelyn Traditional Holly Leaves Tree Skirt
- Best string lights: GE Energy Smart Colorite LED Mini Light Set
- Best wreath for your front door: Woodland Eucalyptus Wreath
- Best holiday inflatable: Inflatable Snow Family
- Best stockings: Needlepoint Stockings from L.L. Bean
- Best garland: Home Accents Holiday Pre-Lit Plaza Garland
- Best advent calendar: Byer's Choice Christmas Tree Advent Calendar
- Best quirky decoration: Christmas Incandescent Tinsel Llama
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, where are the best places to buy ornaments to decorate you so beautifully?
we decided to do some of the heavy lifting for you this holiday season, and round up some of the very best places to buy Christmas ornaments.
Here are the best places to buy ornaments for your tree:
- Best ornaments overall: Cost Plus World Market
- Best personalized and collectible ornaments: Bed, Bath & Beyond
- Best ornaments if you're just starting out: Target
- Best handmade ornaments: Etsy
- Best funny or themed Christmas ornaments: Amazon
Holiday decorations bring feelings of warmth and cheer even in the darkest and coldest days of the year. Testing, setting up, and connecting Christmas lights can be anything but a joyful experience, though.
To that end, this year I've worked to assemble a buying guide filled primarily with holiday lights that not only look great, but that also make your life easier.
Here are the best Christmas lights you can buy:
- Best Christmas lights overall: KooPower Waterproof Battery Fairy Lights
- Best Christmas lights: Good Tidings Light Ceramic Multi-Colored Holiday Lights
- Best light projector: TOFU Laser Projector Light
- Best solar Christmas lights: VMANOO Solar Powered String Lights
- Best mini Christmas lights: Brizled LED Mini String Christmas Lights
- Best permanent Christmas lights: Everlights Starter Kit
Artificial Christmas trees have come a long way since the '80s, and now they look much more realistic and festive during the holiday season.
After researching scores of artificial trees that are available from $15 to $1,500 and assessing them for issues like cost, convenience, beauty, and realism, we've whittled it down to the five best artificial Christmas trees you can buy this holiday season.
Here are the best artificial Christmas trees you can buy:
- Best artificial Christmas tree overall: Balsam Hill Classic Blue Spruce
- Best for big rooms: Pre-lit 12-foot Dunhill Fir Tree by National Tree
- Best for small spaces: Home Heritage 7-foot Pre-Lit Artificial Half Christmas Tree
- Best budget tree: Best Choice Products 6-foot Artificial Christmas Tree
- Best non-traditional tree: Treetopia Silver Shadow Ombre Artificial Christmas Tree
Tree skirts add a dash of color and style to your holiday decor while hiding away that unsightly tree stand and all the Christmas light cords.
Here are the best tree skirts you can buy:
- Best tree skirt overall: Primode Holiday Images 50-Inch Tree Skirt
- Best traditional tree skirt: Valery Madelyn 48-inch Tree Skirt
- Best mini tree skirt: VHC Brands Burlap Ruffled Mini Tree Skirt
- Best affordable tree skirt: SANNO Snowflake Rustic Beige Tree Skirt
- Best large tree skirt: Kurt Adler Embroidered and Pleated 60-Inch Tree Skirt
- Best lighted tree skirt: Teresa's Collection Woodland Reindeer Christmas Tree Skirt
The best Christmas tree stands are designed to last for many decades, have a stable base that holds plenty of water, are easy to set up, and store easily after the holidays are over. The Krinner Tree Genie Christmas Tree Stand is the best one you can buy, thanks to its innovative design.
You should also consider the Jack-Post Welded Steel Christmas Tree Stand, the National Tree Folding Tree Stand, the Good Tidings Cinco Tabletop Christmas Tree Stand, and the Cinco C Express Tree Stand.
Also, if you're doing holiday gift shopping, you can check out all of our 2018 gift guides on Insider Picks.
