Gingerbread houses are adorable! And you can’t deny that they smell exactly how the holiday season is supposed to smell. *sniff sniff*

Ever since my daughter was 3 years old, we’ve made a tradition of throwing intimate gingerbread house building afternoons tea parties for friends and family at home. It’s an afternoon of delicious food, holiday music, drinks, dancing and a lot of fun and sticky, frosting-covered fingers. And if you combine all those ingredients together, the perfect holiday activity is making a gingerbread house together! Here’s where you can go to buy yourself some authentic gingerbread houses as well as some less authentic (but still delicious) ones.

Pro Tip: Top up on extra candy at the supermarket. Most kits come with the bare minimum of decorative candies. Also, get yourself a disposable plastic wrap for your table. It’s a lot easier tossing the whole thing out than scrubbing off frosting that dried and caked on your table.

IKEA makes its own DIY kit every holiday season. You can pick them up at the store or order them online. They tend to be a bit thin and minimalistic – just like every piece of furniture in their store. If this is the kit you end up choosing, be sure to stock up on some more decorative candy from the market.

You can find plenty of DIY gingerbread houses on Taobao. The one I’ve been ordering for years is from Le Le. Their cookies are hand crafted and thick so they travel pretty well. They send enough frosting with every house, and two years ago, when we received an order with a cracked cookie, I sent them a photo and they immediately replaced my entire kit for free.

Pro Tip: If you want to draw detailed patters on the walls, do them before you put your house together.

If you’re super crafty, you can make your own cookies from scratch, and if you want to go even more extra, you can do it in chocolate! Now, I’m no chocolatier, but if you’ve got the skills, a set of silicone gingerbread molds could be just what you’re looking for.

Images: Mina Yan

Gingerbread houses are adorable! And you can’t deny that they smell exactly how the holiday season is supposed to smell. *sniff sniff*

I have a 3-year-old little girl at home who loves arts and crafts, cookies, and singing Christmas songs. And if you combine all those ingredients together, the perfect holiday activity is making a gingerbread house together! Here’s where you can go to buy yourself some authentic gingerbread houses as well as some less authentic (but still delicious) ones.

Pro Tip: Top up on extra candy at the supermarket. Most kits come with the bare minimum of decorative candies.

IKEA

When it comes to Christmas, IKEA gets pretty festive, carrying everything from decorations to trees. Their food section even has gingerbread house kits available. The VINTERSAGA Gingerbread House kit is affordable and conveniently packaged with everything you’d need. All the parts you need for this minimalistic house come in the box and you take it home to build yourself. IKEA couldn’t be a more perfect place for DIY gingerbread houses.

Find it:
1 Taiyanggong Lu, Dongbahe (northwest corner of Siyuan Qiao), Chaoyang District
朝阳区东坝河太阳宫路1号（四元桥西北角）
Open: Daily from 10am-10pm
Tel: 800 810 5679

No-Brand Gingerbread House Kit

I got a few sets of this kit for a gingerbread house-making party upon the recommendation of another parent. Unlike with the IKEA kits, the gingerbread components in these kits are handmade at this Taobao store’s bakery. The kits arrived at my door within two days. Upon opening my first box, however, I was so upset! One of the gingerbread walls had cracked and some decoration pieces had cracked as well. It wasn’t too big a deal, though, as I sent a quick message to the seller with a photo of the issues and a request to replace my broken pieces and they immediately responded to my request with a brand-new DIY box sent out the very next day. Kudos to their customer service!

The Budget Gingerbread House Kit

If you’ve got a bunch of kids coming over and aren’t looking to blow half your paycheck on kits, then this one is a good option. From their small 6cm kit for RMB 20 to their fanciest 10cm kit that comes with extra colored icing and LED lights for RMB 56, this Taobao shop has got some of the cheapest quality kits online.

The Peninsula Beijing

Finally, there’s the crème de la crème of gingerbread creations in Beijing. The last of this year’s Christmas Santa meet and greet events at the The Peninsula Beijing, on Dec 25, will feature a gingerbread house as the children’s craft. From 3pm to 5pm the kids will get to make a gourmet gingerbread Christmas tree with the hotel’s pastry team, listen to stories read by Santa, watch a cool performance, and take iconic holiday photos with the big man and his elves.

Find it:
8 Jinyu Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区金鱼胡同8号
Tel: 8516 2888

Got other recommendations for where to get gingerbread house kits? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: Mina Yan, IKEA

December is all about gingerbread houses for me. I love the smell and I love spending hours sitting at a table chit-chatting with friends while getting my hands dirty. They’ve been a part of my holiday traditions ever since I was a kid, and when I became a mom, I couldn’t wait to share them with my daughter – even though she’s still too young to actually help out or eat it.

While Beijing may not deck the halls with boughs of holly like 5th Avenue does, there are still more than enough gingerbread options so that kids can join in on the holiday cheer.

Domain at East Hotel

A long holiday tradition that yours truly helped start many many years ago, Domain’s gingerbread house classes are one of their most popular. Now part of their year-round Little Chef program, the DIY kits are all made in-house by their pastry kitchen, and kids – with the help of the chef – get to build 30cm high gingerbread houses and decorate them with friends.

The classes are every Saturday and Sunday throughout December at either 10.30am or 2pm for RMB 328 per kid, which includes a glass of juice. Each class lasts about one hour.

Booking is definitely recommended for anyone who wants to participate since Domain will need to prepare everything in advance. To book, call Domain at 8414 9898.

Peninsula Hotel

The Peninsula Hotel has an amazing Christmas setup for kids. Aside from a stunning photo backdrop that’s there every day, on Saturdays and Sundays at either 11.30am or 4pm they have an edible craft class that’s the whole show and dance – literally!

Each week the craft changes between cupcakes, gingerbread Christmas trees, or gingerbread houses. Nobody knows what they’ll get, so you’ll just have to find out when you arrive.

Kids sit around tables where elves and Peninsula’s chefs help them build their gingerbread house (or tree or cupcake…). Meanwhile, parents are asked to wait outside the velvet rope so that the kids can enjoy each other’s company and practice some independence.

Following the class, the families are ushered to the foot of The Peninsula’s grand ballroom staircase where elves literally dance their way down the steps and make way for the big man himself.

While the song and dance are happening, the craft tables are cleared away as if by Christmas magic and replaced with satin pillows all ready for storytime with Santa.

To wrap up the magical Christmas festivities, Santa leads the group and selects one lucky kid to help him illuminate their giant Christmas tree, and before everyone heads home blissfully happy, the kids line up for gifts and photos with Santa and his elves.

The classes for the remainder of the month are unfortunately sold out. But! You can still partake in the festivities and watch the elves dance, as well as the tree lighting, and get your photo taken with Santa if you go for afternoon tea or chocolate fondue in their lobby bar during that time.

Pre-booking is highly, highly recommended as they’re expected to be super busy during these times. Please call 8516 2888 in advance.

Gingerbread coloring sets

If going out isn’t your thing but you still want to play with gingerbread at home, there’s a DIY kit made by Malika Li of Malika’s Cakes that can be ordered by scanning the QR code below.

These kits come with one big gingerbread cookie and a 100 percent edible coloring set that’s safe for kids.
She’s also got a bunch of other Christmas-themed gingerbread sets that would make delicious gifts this holiday season.

KEEP READING: Finding a Tree To Trim in Beijing

Images: Malika Li, East Beijing Hotel, Mina Yan, The Peninsula Beijing

Years ago I worked at East Hotel Beijing and we started a tradition of hosting gingerbread-making classes for children. We were so excited to see how much the guests loved it and the smiles on the kids’ faces. Some of them were seeing a gingerbread house for the first time.

It’s been five years, and the East Hotel holiday gingerbread house tradition continues.

Every weekend in December kids can join in either the 10.30am or 2pm gingerbread making class for RMB 328 per child including all the materials, hands-on instructions from the chefs, and cookies and one fresh juice.
Everything you need to build a beautiful gingerbread house will be prepared by the Domain team. All you need to bring is your creativity. Each class usually takes around an hour and no matter what level of arts and crafts skill you have, the chefs will help you put together a beautiful gingerbread house to be adored.

For those looking to organize a small private party for the kids (or an end of year team bonding session), Domain offers private classes for groups of five or more.

Bookings need to be made at least three days in advance by calling Domain at 8414 9830.

The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means Christmas fairs, turkey roasts, gift wrapping, and, of course, a toasty, warm house filled with the buttery smell of baking. But instead of dealing with cleanup, or for a lux change of scenery, book a class with you and your family at Domain.

Located at the swanky EAST Hotel near 798, we think many families in know agree the outlets at East and the connected Indigo Mall make for a great weekend family excursion. To sweeten the deal they will be hosting their Little Chefs cooking classes series from now through the holidays. Classes in the past include Halloween themed cookie baking and traditional Chinese mooncake making. 

For this holiday season, there are two yummy cooking classes still available; baking mini apple pies for Thanksgiving and assembling your own ginger bread house for Christmas.

Pie making is deceptively easy, and the best way to demystify rolling and kneading dough is to learn from an experienced teacher. Have fun with your kids making delicious apple pies for Thanksgiving, with classes on Nov 10 and 17 starting at 2pm. 

Consisting of gumdrop stepping stones, candy cane gates and roof eaves thick with frosting, gingerbread houses are fun edible sculptures that are our personal nostalgic favorites. Take home a charming gingerbread house with classes held on Dec 8, 15, and 22 starting at 2pm.

Every class costs RMB 328 and includes a glass of free juice for the kids. For reservations, call EAST Hotel at 8414 9830.

Photos: andersruff.com, brighteyedbaker.com, wilton.com