Print, Cut, Play Gingerbread Town

 Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread house found on Pinterest, no credit

The kids will be out of school soon for Christmas Break. After a day of watching tv, and maybe another day of playing on a computer, all while anticipating the excitement of Christmas morning, kids get restless. Perfect time to make a gingerbread village! 

Too messy? Too much sugar?  

Why not make a paper one?  Today, let’s put that printer to good use, and print out some candy houses. Draw some gingerbread people to go in it. Get the scissors and glue out. Then we can decorate them with bits cut from catalogs, magazines, and more.

Here are the first few:

 These are not my original house plans, by the way. I found all of them on Pinterest, and none of them had reliable source information. I always try not to step on anyone’s toes, or hard work. If you recognize who has drawn any of these please let me know so I can give credit where it is due.

You can use cardstock in your printer for a nice sturdy village. 

After printing and cutting out, it’s time to get all those Christmas shopping catalogs that have been flooding your mailbox. Cut out some decorations to glue to your gingerbread houses.

For smaller children, let them use paper punches to add decorative details. You may find it easier to glue things on before assembling, or you might prefer to add on after the houses are put together. Try both ways.

I would suggest you use a good glue on those assembly flaps. My favorite is Aleene’s Tacky Glue in the gold bottle for a good all-purpose glue. For fine detail work I prefer Art Institute Glitter Adhesive. You should be able to find both of these in any craft store, or even Walmart.

Now let’s get some peeps for your village! You will need to play around with the correct sizing for these. Make them as big or small as you prefer.

These cute elves can be fastened together with brads or eyelets for movable parts, or glue the parts together to make more of a sturdy paperdoll. Glue them onto a thin cardboard like a cereal box for durability. For small children play you might think about laminating them.

Here is a Santa to go with them:

German

I also found these ginger-people paper doll figures:

Cottonartsboutique.com

I have shown in past blogs how to make stands for your paper dolls.

Other ideas for your gingerbread village include using scraps of fabric, ric-rac, ribbons, buttons and more to decorate your houses.

Try some glitter glue for sparkle! I think Sticklers is the best for that, and it comes in so many colors.

Most of all, have fun.

Here is one last paper doll for you:

‘Til next time,

inkspired