A crooked peppermint door can earn just as much applause as a perfectly iced roof. Give your builders three details to design around: a roof pattern, an inventive door and a story visitors can figure out by looking at the house.
Holiday dates for planning
| Observance | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Day | Friday, December 25, 2026 | Saturday, December 25, 2027 | Monday, December 25, 2028 | Tuesday, December 25, 2029 | Wednesday, December 25, 2030 |
| Gingerbread House Day | Saturday, December 12, 2026 | Sunday, December 12, 2027 | Tuesday, December 12, 2028 | Wednesday, December 12, 2029 | Thursday, December 12, 2030 |
Christmas Day date reference · Gingerbread House Day date reference
For Christmas Day in 2027, the holiday date is Saturday, December 25, 2027; the federal observed date is Friday, December 24, 2027.
Set the table before the builders arrive
Set a house on a movable base for each team. If decorating is the main event, assemble the houses early enough for the icing to set according to the kit directions. For a quicker version, lay a rectangular cracker flat on each plate and decorate a house front. Flat houses work with the same awards and fit in a small classroom.
Give every team the same starting assortment of decorations, a portion of icing and a house number. Check ingredient labels with families in advance. A paper-house station with colored scraps gives children another way to build a contest entry.
A 35-minute contest
| Minutes | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0–5 | Sketch the front door and choose a roof pattern. |
| 5–20 | Decorate. One teammate can pipe while another places pieces. Swap jobs halfway through. |
| 20–25 | Give the house a name and write a one-sentence story for its display card. |
| 25–30 | Take a gallery walk. Visit every house before voting. |
| 30–35 | Tally the ballots and announce the awards. |
Keep cleanup time separate. If a wall falls over, lay it on its base and let the team finish it as a courtyard or a bakery sign. Give it the same place in the gallery.
Make the judging specific
Ask each visitor to write one house number beside each category. Count roof, door and story votes separately. Give tied houses a shared award. For a small family, skip ballots and let everyone point out one detail they liked on somebody else’s house. “The pretzel ladder explains how the baker gets upstairs” tells a builder exactly what a visitor noticed.
A printable for this activity
Gingerbread Contest Host Kit includes a team planning sheet, display tents, visitor ballots, a tally sheet, an award and host instructions.
Optional supplies
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Reynolds Kitchens parchment paper makes a removable liner for the decorating tray and catches loose candy during cleanup.