Gingerbread House Craft for PreK–2: Christmas Photo Ornament and Parent Gift Keepsake

Description

A gingerbread house that holds a child’s own face is a keepsake families keep, and this craft makes one in a single December week. Each child colors a house, opens a window in it and places a photo behind the opening, so the child’s own face shows through the front of a candy cottage — in six original designs, from Candy Cane Cottage to Lollipop Lodge.

There is no laminator and no guesswork. The photo slides between the house front and a matching back panel, like a sandwich, and the back panel fits every design and reads “Made with love by,” with lines for the year and age. A true-size photo trim page shows exactly how big to print and cut each photo — 4.2 by 3.1 inches for big houses, 2.2 by 1.6 inches for minis.

Two sizes make the craft do double duty. The big houses, 7 by 8.6 inches, suit a holiday bulletin board or a fridge magnet, and the minis, 3.4 by 4.25 inches, hang on the tree as Christmas ornaments. Children without a photo use the Draw Yourself frames, so the whole class finishes the same photo craft.

The gift is finished with three gift tag greetings and two parent poem cards, and the writing runs at three levels — tracing a sentence, telling First, Next and Last with a word bank, or writing “If I lived in a gingerbread house...” — so the same craft carries December writing practice for PreK through 2nd grade.

What's included

The houses and the photo

• 6 big house designs: Candy Cane Cottage, Gumdrop Gable, Peppermint Palace, Snowflake Chalet, Cookie Cabin and Lollipop Lodge
• A design-your-own house, in big and mini sizes
• Mini ornament houses, 4 per page, with design-your-own minis
• Big and mini back panels that fit every house, reading “Made with love by,” with year and age lines
• True-size photo trim boxes: 4.2 x 3.1 in for big houses, 2.2 x 1.6 in for minis
• Draw Yourself window frames in both sizes, so no child sits out

Gift and decoration pages

• 25 cut-and-glue candy pieces
• 6 gift tags in 3 greetings: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings
• 2 parent poem cards
• Illustrated 6-step directions and a family photo letter
• 3-day craft plan, teacher notes and a supplies list

Writing in three levels

• Level 1: trace and write “I made a gingerbread house.”
• Level 2: First, Next, Last with a word bank and picture boxes
• Level 3: “If I lived in a gingerbread house” writing
• Finished sizes and a photo guide for both house sizes

Ways to use it

• Gingerbread house craft for kindergarten
• Christmas keepsake parent gifts
• Christmas ornament craft for preschool
• Gingerbread week activities in December
• Holiday party craft stations
• 1st and 2nd grade December writing

Why it works

It works because the craft solves its own hardest problems: the back panel fits every design, the trim page answers the photo size question, and the Draw Yourself frames mean no child is left out. The three writing levels turn one craft into December writing practice for the whole PreK–2 range.

Questions & answers