Mini Graham Gingerbread Houses

Since Abigail was in preschool, it's been a family tradition for each child to decorate an individual gingerbread house for me to display in our home. Some years we purchased premade kits, other years we baked our own gingerbread, and a few times we made our houses out of graham crackers like the ones displayed above. I have to admit I kind of like the small ones best of all because they don't take up a whole lot of space in our home. Also, the kids like the smaller ones, too, because the smaller houses are more manageable without feeling overwhelming. As the kids glued different types of candy to their holiday house, there were moments of spontaneous laughter like when we watched Mimi's house collapse from the weight of excessive frosting and candy on her roof. Even she could see the humor in the moment as I caught it on my camera. Supplied with a box of gingerbread-flavored graham crackers, a container of vanilla frosting, and an assortment of holiday candy, each child took immense pride in their colorful creation. Using a flipped-over wood tray, I displayed their masterpieces along with a few candles and some green branches. Collectively, their edible houses are now the perfect centerpiece for my dining room. Seriously, aren't they so cute? At least to me, they are. After all, I am my kids' mama. These mini gingerbread houses are a great activity to do with your child. No baking is required.

Here is what you'll need:

• A box of gingerbread graham crackers
• 1 can of vanilla frosting
• a couple of sandwich bags
• disposable plates
• an assortment of candy

To assemble a house, fill a sandwich bag with 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting. Seal the bag and make a small snip in the corner of the bag. This is your piping bag. Pipe some frosting to a graham cracker square and glue it to a plate. This is the base of the house. Carefully pipe frosting around the edges of 4 other square crackers. Apply a little bit of pressure to make the "glue" stick. Take a perfect square piece and cut it diagonally to make two triangles. To form the gable roof, pipe frosting around the edges of the triangles. Carefully glue the triangles on top of the 2 sides of the house as shown above. To finish the roof, pipe more frosting around the edges of two squares and carefully place it on top. If you prefer to let the frosting harden before decorating, allow the house to set overnight. However, if you prefer to decorate immediately, you can. After you're done decorating, allow the frosting on the house to harden overnight. Voila, you have a beautifully decorated candy house!