The Candy Cottage

I got this house so that we could have a gluten free gingerbread house. It was perfect! Easy to assemble and decorate. It was a little larger than I anticipated, but my kids loved decorating it!

I loved this so much I purchased two so that each grandchild could personalize their own candy house. If the price gives you pause, as it did for me at first, consider the fact that this will last years and eliminate many headaches. I was never a fan of baking a gingerbread base or trying to cut out a cardboard one. Now I don’t have to. .My grandkids really enjoy decorating the candy houses and I can relax, know wing that the homes are sturdy enough not to break or collapse, as a gingerbread one might. .They spend plenty of time choosing their favorite candies and cereals to complete their ideal homes.

This is our THIRD one of these. I bought this YEARS ago and it has become a beloved tradition with my girls. We buy a can of white frosting and paint the whole thing with it. We lay out the sprinkles and candies, crackers and cereal squares etc. and let our imaginations run wild decorating. It looks for ALL THE WORLD like the real deal when it's done. Nobody knows! I put in on a pice of cardboard covered with tinfoil and we display it proudly all season. This year I decided that since my girls are getting a bit older (four and eight) we will each do our own. I bought two more! We do an Advent calendar where the Elf on the Shelf (we have two) leave them prizes every day. Sometimes they're just a candy cane but sometimes it's a really nice prize. These new gingerbread houses will be one of those really nice prizes. Mommy collects the big, fancy gingerbread houses and I love to set them out at the holidays. The girls know I love to see their gingerbread houses displayed next to my others. We have a great time with this tradition -- it's so easy and so much fun. At the end of the season you simply scrape the stuff off -- it releases surprisingly well. We wash it and pack it away for next year. Cannot wait to have us all do one this year! Daddy can just judge! ;P

I used to avoid letting my kids make gingerbread houses at all costs. In our house, nobody ever eats the actual gingerbread so I always felt like it was very wasteful. This item is genius, my kids now build several gingerbread houses a year (they love decorating them for different holidays). I have to build the house for them but it snaps together easily and it stays together while they use icing and candies to decorate. Clean up is easy; the kids pick off any candies that they want to keep and put them into a container and I put the house into the kitchen sink and run hot water on it. Once the joints are cleared of icing, I take the pieces apart and scrub with a brush and soap and water. I let the house pieces air dry then pop them back into the box for storage. We loved the Candy Cottage so much that I bought a second one for my neice and nephew!

These houses are fun to decorate but the size might be a concern for some people. In addition the house sort of lack the traditional gingerbread house look. It also takes quite a bit of frosting to completely cover the house. On the plus side they are so easy to assemble, clean up and reuse year after year. That means more time for decorating without fussing with unstable houses.

This kit is very sturdy & a nice, large size. My grandkids loved decorating it for Christmas, & now are anxious to design one for Valentine's Day. It was a little challenging to get the side panels aligned, but perhaps it was because it was my first time & I didn't want to snap the plastic & break anything. I feel it was a great investment in fun creativity.

Great fun project to share with my four year old and seven year old granddaughters. We decorated it for Valentine’s Day, and will do it again for Easter.

I absolutely love this house! This is my second one! I bought one years ago at a mistletoe market. My grandkids love this and they can decorate this without it falling apart. After Christmas I just rinse it off, take it apart, and save it until the next holiday! I highly recommend this house!