Housing prices are through the unaffordable roof, so what if we told you that you could get an entire home for less than $20? The only trade-offs: It’s on the small side, and you have to build it yourself. It’s also made of gingerbread, but we consider that a plus.
Gingerbread may not populate your Zillow wishlist, but you have to admit that walking past a perfectly made gingerbread house brings you a little bit of joyous respite from the reality of staring down the barrel of crushing debt for the rest of your life. Anyway, gingerbread houses are nice, and we want you to have the very best gingerbread houses.
With this goal in mind, we tried a bunch of gingerbread house kits to see which ones were the best gingerbread house kits for every festive occasion. We nibbled on all of the cookies before building, and nibbled a little more before booking our anger management sessions when the darn walls wouldn’t stick together even though we did everything right. We took into account the taste of the cookies (if it’s not the best tasting gingerbread house kit, then why bother?), as well as structural integrity, and building supplies provided in the kits. Here are the best gingerbread house kits to snatch up this season.
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- Skittles Mini Confetti Cookie House Box Kit
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I have to admit, I was really relieved that the Skittles brand house was not gingerbread. I love Skittles and I love gingerbread, but never the twain shall meet, lest there be a cacophony of flavors fighting with each other like gladiators in Gladiator II, now in theaters everywhere. The cookie house pieces were funfetti, and man, did the ‘90s kids inside of me absolutely light up when I tasted how close that flavor was to Dunkaroos. Alas, being eaten in front of All That reruns might be the house’s most likely fate, because the cookies were already broken when I opened the box. It also only comes with one tiny bag of Skittles, frosting, and dragees. I’d probably only spend a few minutes decorating this, but I’d eat it for days and be very happy. It’s the best gingerbread house kit if gingerbread just ain’t your thing.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Freshness Guaranteed Gingerbread House Kit
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When it comes to building gingerbread houses, these people do not mess around. The house walls themselves are decorated with an adorable winter design, and it includes gingerbread men! In addition to the cookies, the kit also provides a roof holder, gummy trees, snowflake quins, dragees, jellies, peppermint candies, and a tray to build your house on. With a construction set-up like this, the only thing missing is Chip and Joanna Gaines. It’s already everything you imagine when you think of a classic gingerbread house, but to truly put themselves head and shoulders above the competition in the eyes of a serious builder, they provide icing in an easy squeeze bag, as well as two decorating tips. The cookie walls are very sturdy and very crunchy, but the cookie is a little bitter for my taste with a bit too much clove. It’s not unpleasant, by any means, but you might be happier if you snack on a bag of TJ’s triple ginger snaps while building one of these gingerbread houses. It’s the best gingerbread house kit for serious builders who aren’t so concerned with eating their creation.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Create-a-Treat Sour Patch Ski Chalet
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Think gingerbread houses are just a vehicle for candy? This is the best gingerbread house kit for you. Because Sour Patch kids are not an acceptable match with gingerbread, these cookie walls are decidedly not spice cookies but instead taste like animal crackers. They have a subtly sweet, pretty neutral flavor, and are sturdy enough to withstand all of the manhandling that kids are going to subject this to, because it is a candy-loving kid’s dream. The kit comes with two small bags of Sour Patch Kids, candy christmas lights, candy mini christmas trees, and icing already in a squeeze pouch. But wait! There’s more! They also include two different squeeze-y icings, a red that’s redberry flavored and a green that’s lime flavored, and blue fondant. Fondant! Any kit that lets me pretend, if just for a moment, that I’m Duff Goldman is a favorite.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Candyland Gingerbread House Kit
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Of all the gingerbread flavored houses I tried, this was the best tasting gingerbread house kit. With a wonderfully warm molasses smell, it has the best balance of spice, most forward ginger flavor, and least bitter aftertaste that seemed to haunt some of the others. It tastes like a ginger snap that was baked to be eaten, but it also holds up as a structure. That being said, I expected it to come with more frosting and, honestly, more decorations. It includes gumdrops, candy stars, rainbow sprinkles, and dragees. The box also has printouts of character pictures that you can cut out and add to your scene, a very cool touch. That’s plenty of stuff for the run-of-the-mill home, but this is a box and brand that boasts “more is more” when it comes to candy. It’s literally in the name. Give the people what they want! Still, it’s the best gingerbread house kit to buy if you’re looking for that classic gingerbread house experience.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Non-Gingerbread
Best Detailed Design
Best Candy
Best of the Best
Other gingerbread house kits we tried: Oreo, Create-a-Treat, M&M’s, Cookies Unlimited, Favorite Day Mini, Favorite Day Santa’s Donut, Minecraft
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!