Gorgeous Gingerbread House Classroom Display
We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! Can you believe there are only 28 more days until Christmas?! If you're changing out your turkey decorations in favor of something more wintry, we recommend checking out this gorgeous gingerbread house door display created by kindergarten teacher, Beth Vinson Wood! With it's vibrant colors, cutesy candy motif, and intricate detailing, you're guaranteed to have the best door design in the building! {Plus, can you imagine how magical it will be for your kiddos?!}
Colorful Gingerbread House Decoration
- The Gingerbread House. Cut two long strips of brown bulletin board paper. We suggest measuring your door frame to figure out the length you'll need. {They'll need to be about a foot taller than the door frame, so measure the frame from floor to top and add a about 12-inches to your measurement.} Attach the strips side by side (vertically), about a foot above the door frame, and allow them to drape all the way to the floor. Cut an arched hole in the center to expose the door and add visual interest by using your scissors to shape the outside edges of the paper as well. {Beth added a bit of a curve to the gingerbread house cutout.} Cut a long strip of pink bulletin board paper, using scissors to cut the strip of paper into a trapezoid and scallop the bottom edge. Attach the shape to the top of the gingerbread house to create the roof. Use craft paint or paper to add detailing as desired. To create the windows, cut arched window shapes from black bulletin board paper, tracing the same shape onto natural butcher paper in order to draw and cut window grids, and mirroring the roof by adding a similar pink trapezoid with scalloped bottom edge to create a decorative 'awning'. The last step in creating the gingerbread house is to cover the door with natural butcher paper and create the candy cane archway from white bulletin board paper. After the fact, there doesn't seem to be a super easy way to create the candy cane archway. We do recommend, however, when cutting the arched doorway from the brown paper, that you draw it on first and cut it out in one piece. That way, when it comes to creating the candy cane archway, you have a guide to work off of. You can trace the shape onto white bulletin board paper then use your judgement to create candy canes that will fit the size and shape of the door. Once drawn and cut, all you'll need to do is add stripes with red marker or craft paint!
- The Gingerbread People. Freehand or find gingerbread shapes online to enlarge and trace onto brown bulletin board paper using your classroom projector system. Decorate the cutouts with construction paper accents - holly berries and leaves for bow ties, simple green and red circles for buttons, etc. Create two gingerbread cutouts and attach on either side of the gingerbread house door display.
- The Candy Accents. Aren't the candies just adorable?! Cut small, medium, and large size circles from construction paper in assorted colors. {You'll need two circles of the same size for each candy so plan accordingly.} To create the candies, cut a design out of one of the circles - i.e. a starburst, a swirl, etc. - and mount it on top of the second circle. Finish the cutouts off with striped construction paper candy sticks and add the candies to the display! {We love how Beth created small candy cutouts and added them to the door along with the names of her students!}
- The Assorted Wintry Accents. The evergreen tree, cut from green bulletin board paper, adds a lovely pop of rich color and is perfect for the wintry scene. Additionally, the paper snowflake cutouts attached to the window awnings and at the top of the door, offer beautiful wintry detailing!
Isn't this display just incredible?! It's definitely not just for kids - we know the adults in the building will have a fit over it too!