Graham Cracker Cookie Christmas Houses

Today, my daughter traveled to our town to bring three of my great-grandchildren, so they could attend a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop that I, with the help of my husband and mother, conducted at our local art gallery. Twelve kids, ranging in age from three years old (my great-granddaughter) to about 12 years old, participated in the workshop. Pictured above are samples of the kids' creativity. The house decorated by the child with the Rudolph shirt is my great-granddaughter's handiwork. The other two (much neater) houses were done by older children.

This is a fun and easy way for children of all ages to create "gingerbread houses." Here's what's needed:

Supplies:

1/2 pint, empty and washed, milk carton (like those used in school lunchrooms)

A square of cardboard to use as a work surface (wrap foil around it and tape foil to back of board)

Wax paper, to spoon icing onto

Small containers to hold candies and such

Plastic knife for spreading icing

Inexpensive white icing - we used Wal Mart's Great Value. Don't use whipped icing, because it's slippery

Stick pretzels

Red hots

M&Ms

Candy canes

Peppermints

Marshmallows (we used tiny ones, but large ones can be used as chimneys, snowmen, etc.)

Shredded coconut

Any other decorative food stuff - gumdrops are good (green ones make nice trees or shrubs)

Instructions:

1. Staple milk cartons closed at top. Spread icing on bottom of carton and place carton on foil cardboard. This stabilizes the milk carton so it's easier to work with.

2. Carefully break graham crackers in half at scoring line - you will get two squares per cookie sheet. It takes four squares to make the walls of the house, and two squares to form the roof. Using a serrated knife, cut one cookie in half diagonally to form triangles to be mounted onto the upper ends of the milk carton.

3. Use a generous amount of icing to coat one cookie. Stick the cookie to one side of the milk carton, with scored cookie lines going in a vertical direction. Do the same with the other three cookies, until you have four walls on the milk carton.

4. Generously ice the triangles, and place them flush atop the walls on the ends of the milk cartons with the indented spaces. These triangles will help hold up the roof.

5. Generously ice two cookie squares and place them on top of the milk carton to form a roof.

6. If there is time, you can let the icing dry for a while before proceeding. But if the icing is stiff enough, you shouldn't have a lot of trouble with the next step, which is to ice the entire house, making sure to fill in spaces where walls and roof meet.

7. Once the house is iced, the sky's the limit in decorating with candies, coconut, pretzels, etc.

8. HAVE FUN!!