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Making a gingerbread village for the holidays is something our family does every single year! We love to build different-shaped buildings and design fun houses! The whole house smells amazing for days after! With so many options for gingerbread house printables on the web, I thought I would make a gingerbread village printable for all of you to enjoy!
Gingerbread Village Ideas For Christmas
The options for building a gingerbread village are endless! There are two different types of gingerbread villages that our family loves to make:
Flat Lay Gingerbread Village
A flat-lay gingerbread village is one of the easiest types of villages you can make. It simply consists of a series of differently shaped, decorated flat gingerbread houses and buildings, or cookies, if you will.
This type of village can be all different sizes and looks beautiful displayed on a fireplace mantle, a kitchen hutch shelf or perhaps open-concept shelving.
3D Gingerbread Village
3D gingerbread villages are definitely a bit trickier to make. To build a 3D scene, you will need 3 to 5 gingerbread houses and buildings that can stand on their own. These buildings can be all different sizes, shapes and designs.
The Very Best Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
No matter which style of the village you decide to try and make, the most important part is always the gingerbread cookie recipe and the type of icing you use! The gingerbread dough needs to be workable, be able to hold its form, and of course, needs taste great!
The icing for your village and houses needs to dry quickly and be extremely strong for your 3D gingerbread village. My classic iced gingerbread cookie recipe has been tested and tried over the years and will work perfectly for whatever type of village you take on.
You can also use some fun cookie cutters to bake additional trees and gingerbread men to add to your village! Or you can even add these adorable icing decorations too.
Don’t want to do the baking? I have gathered a premade gingerbread village for you to online order instead! Just as fun to decorate a premade village and it will save all the time and mess.
Decorating A Gingerbread Village
Now onto the fun part.. decorating the village and gingerbread houses! The sky is the limit when it comes to decorating gingerbread. Candies, chocolates, candy canes and sprinkles are all wonderful ideas to use with gingerbread.
Icing Gingerbread
Or keep things simple, like I do, and stick to just the icing. Make sure your icing is the right consistency! If it is too thick, you won’t be able to make any fancy designs or intricate details as the icing will simply be too hard to work with. However, if the icing is too thin, it will be extremely difficult to not have it run down the gingerbread house or building.
In the past, I have found that using a pointed toothpick to apply the icing helps. The toothpick gives more control when trying to make a detailed design on the gingerbread.
Make sure you allow your icing to dry completely before picking up or moving your gingerbread house. It is never fun when you have to start from scratch after you have done a lot of work on a building.
Gingerbread Village Printable
Although most years, I have always tried to freehand my village, I thought this printable may be a fun template for all of you to try. This is a simple guide to begin your village but I encourage you to make more buildings or houses on your own too.
Simply print this pdf off on a printer and then cut it out. Once you have rolled out your gingerbread dough, lay the cutout gingerbread houses on the dough and cut around the edges. Add any additional windows or doors you would like to your gingerbread village.
I would love to see your gingerbread villages if you do decide to make one! Be sure to tag me in images on social media or send me a picture over email! Don’t forget to Pin this printable too, so you can come back to it year after year when it’s time to make your gingerbread for the holidays!
If you are looking for more amazing holiday ideas, head over and try these fun DIY dried orange slices! They make the yummiest garnish to any holiday beverage and like the gingerbread, these make your home smell so good too!
