This year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I facilitated family gingerbread-decorating sessions. To prepare, my mom and I went a little overboard buying a variety of gingerbread kits. I would have made the horses and stable, but many of the pieces in that kit were badly cracked. No one ended up using the Chips Ahoy house. The train and Oreo kits came from Five Below—they offered different design options and were especially easy to assemble.

Royal Icing Recipe: I love using this recipe with meringue powder. It sets quickly and works extremely well.

I also saved extra sheep, wreaths, and a bench from my Irish Cottage Gingerbread house. Several family members incorporated them into their designs.

Go here to see my entire Gingerbread collection.