Tis’ the season for festive crafts that bring joy without the sticky mess! If you’ve ever dreamed of creating a gingerbread house with your little ones but dreaded the cleanup, I have the perfect solution for you.

This Paper Plate Gingerbread House Craft combines all the charm of a traditional gingerbread house without any of the fuss. Plus, with a FREE template that makes crafting a breeze, this project is ideal for spreading Christmas cheer throughout your home.

different paper plate gingerbread houses - Christmas craft for kids

This gingerbread house project is suitable for preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children, guided by a parent or teacher.

While making memories, your little ones will also practice other skills, such as choice-making and fine motor skills, as they cut, apply glue, and paste the decorations on the gingerbread house.

gingerbread house craft for kids with paper plate - Pinterest image — **Pin it for later!**

Go ahead and grab your supplies and get creative with this adorable holiday project!

Important: I encourage you to read the tutorial, especially the gluing steps. The craft may not look as good if you don’t glue things in order. After all, I practiced five different ways; the last gingerbread house I glued was the best way to do it.

Page Contents

Tools & Materials

Printer
Template (download at the end of the article; you don’t need to subscribe!)
Glue
9-inch paper plate
Scissors
White cardstock
Brown or vibrant paint colors
Paintbrush
Colors, markers (optional)

materials for making a paper plate gingerbread house craft

Super tip: If you don’t have paper plates, cut an 8-9-inch circle with white cardstock.

Step 1 – Print Gingerbread House Template

You’ll find a section with the templates at the end of the tutorial. There’s a pre-colored version and a version for coloring. For a faster and easier craft, print the colored version, and for a longer activity, choose the one for coloring.

Before you print the template, take a look at the pages. There are different sets of doors and windows, plus tons of candy you can cut to personalize your gingerbread house.

There’s a page with icing, and it’s tricky for little and even big hands to cut. Instead of following the template, I think cutting your own “icing” stripes out of regular white cardstock would be easy, so there’s no line to follow.

Template for paper plate gingerbread house

Step 2 – Paint

Always start by painting first, as it takes longer to dry. Your children will probably want to glue as soon as they finish cutting.

Brown is the most common color for a gingerbread house, but I encourage you to use fun and vibrant colors. I used green, silver, yellow, pink, and, of course, brown.

paint a paper plate in different colors for gingerbread house

Once you paint all the paper plates, set them aside to dry.

Step 3 – Cut Template

Cut all the pieces you want to use. As I mentioned, there are many different sets of doors, windows, and candy. You can also check out the “Assemble Ideas!” page or show your child which house they would like to build.

Step 4 – Glue

Let’s assemble our gingerbread house!

gingerbread house craft ready to be made

I made the step-by-step tutorial using the green paper plate.

It’s gluing time, and here are the best tips when gluing your gingerbread house.

Start by gluing the icing stripes toward the top of the paper plate.
Glue roof. However, do not put glue on both ends.
Lift the ends of the roof and glue the houseposts.
Glue windows, making sure there’s enough room for the door.

gluing windows on paper plate gingerbread house

Glue decorations that need to go behind the snow (lollipops, candy canes, etc.)
Glue snow at the bottom of the paper plate.
Glue door and chimney.

glue door on paper plate gingerbread house

glue candy cane on paper plate gingerbread house

I decided to glue the candy canes behind the chimney at the last minute, and I loved the result.
Decorate the house with extra candy. I used gummies on the roof and hard candy to glue on the snow.

Just like that, your gingerbread house is done! It looks so Christmassy! This is by far one of the best crafts I’ve made for the blog.

final paper plate gingerbread house craft for kids

The following pic is a little odd, but I wanted to show you how the paper plate looks on the back in case you need help with the alignment of some parts.

More Assemble Ideas!

Here are more ideas you can show your little ones as well.

When it makes sense, I love giving you multiple choices when making a craft. That way, you can involve your child in making choices.

Take a look at these beautiful gingerbread houses! It’s hard to pick my favorite one. Notice how changing the paint color can create such a different craft.

I love all the different candy options and the small decorations you can glue by the window or behind the chimney.

Don’t they look amazing?

Which one is your favorite one?

Download Template!

As I mentioned, here’s the Gingerbread House template for your craft! Click the image to open the PDF in a new window or the yellow button to trigger a download on your phone or computer.

paper plate gingerbread house template in color — Download PDF

paper plate gingerbread house template for coloring — Download PDF

Oh!

Just so you know, I also have a library full of free SVG files and Printables for all my subscribers, a.k.a. Daydreamers. You can see a preview right here or get access by filling out this form.