The Witching Hour has come and gone, but I can’t resist sharing a few pictures of our Haunted gingerbread House Making party last Friday!

Getting the decorations ready

What makes a traditional gingerbread house “haunted?”  We’ll, we used chocolate graham crackers for the structures, and a whole lot of spooky toppers, sprinkles, candies, and icing.  I displayed the toppers in muffin pans so the kids could really see everything they had to work with. Mike cut out 10″ x10″ cardboard squares, and I covered them in tin foil to use as bases for the houses – sort of like cake boards.   I also pre-made the house structures the night before since a bunch of kids were coming over, time was limited, and it’s easier for smaller children to decorate the houses when they’re already hardened and sturdy.  (I had all of the supplies ready in case anyone wanted to make their own house, but mostly the kids were ready to just get to the decorating part!)

Max working on a spiky, candy corn fence

The icing eyeballs and spider toppers were quite popular!

Icing in ghoulish colors.

I tested out these squeeze bottles for the royal icing, and they worked pretty well.  I think 6 year-olds and up can handle a pastry bag just as easily, though.  They got a bit harder to squeeze as the icing got low, but not impossible.  Also, I was happy to see that the tips didn’t’ clog up nearly as much as I thought they might.  The gel color pastes made such deep, and bright colors!  And they only got better the longer they say out, so do make your icing in advance if you want richer color. 

Giant spiders invade a Haunted Pirate Fort

Who ate the chocolate pretzels? Oh, that was me.

This was such a good time, I wish I had snapped a few more photos!  We’re definitely planning another, traditional Gingerbread House making party for the holidays, too.  I just hope the kids have as much fun with snowmen, deer, and pine trees as they did with zombies, blood, and spiders!