Make These Charming Gingerbread Houses from Paper Bags

One holiday tradition that I still do with my teenage daughter, even though we’ve never had a lot of holiday traditions, is decorating a gingerbread house. We use a kit rather than making gingerbread from scratch, and sometimes have a friend over to decorate with us. It’s always a lot of fun and then we keep the house on display for a few weeks as part of our holiday decor.

If you want to do gingerbread houses without the mess, or you’re looking for a holiday classroom craft that doesn’t involve food, these gingerbread houses made from paper bags are a great option.

This comes from The Best Ideas for Kids, and the post includes printables (free when you enter your email) that kids can color, cut out and add to the bag to make a gingerbread house all their own.

Of course you could also start kids off with basic shapes like circles, squares and rectangles and have them draw their own windows, doors and roofs if you want.

The printables also include things like giant lollipops and candy canes as well as smaller candies and Christmas trees that can be used to decorate the houses. There are three options for windows, doors and roof lines that you can mix up to make a bunch of different houses.

This would be a fun activity to do in the classroom and see how different kids decorate their gingerbread houses (and they’re a great decoration for the classroom, too). Or you can make them at home and use them for decoration on the holiday table or elsewhere.

Head to The Best Ideas for Kids to grab the printables and make this easy holiday craft for kids today.

Do you like to decorate gingerbread houses or is this paper version more your speed? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: The Best Ideas for Kids] Check out the kids craft section on Craftbits.com

There’s something great about every state, and Clive Gifford has collected fun facts, trivia and firsts from every state in Record-Breaking USA: Celebrating America’s Biggest, Brightest and Bravest.

Each state gets a one or two-page spread, with facts scattered around the page and illustrations by Paul Hammond. The page lists a state nickname, the capital, state mammal, a fun fact and some famous residents, as well as firsts and record breaking events that happened in each state.

You’ll learn that Alabama is home to the biggest unclaimed baggage center in the world, that Florida is home to the most toxic tree (the manchineel tree, which has sap that can burn the skin and make people go blind, and its fruit is toxic) and that Iowa is home to the largest model of a strawberry, to name a few facts. Loma, Montana, holds the record for the largest temperature range in a day (from -54 to 49 degrees F, which is a 103 degree difference), while Ohio’s Geauga County once employed the smallest police dog on record, an 11-inch-tall chihuahua/rat terrier mix.

South Dakota has the world’s biggest Bigfoot statue, the cotton candy machine was invented in Tennessee, and a car that was 91 percent cake was driven (and eaten) in Washington state in 2021, now holding the record for the fastest moving mostly edible car.

As you might guess from these sample facts, kids will find this book funny and probably learn some things, too. In addition to the states there’s a page for Washington, D.C., where President Theodore Roosevelt broke the record for the most hands shaken in one day (8,513, a record that’s held since 1907), and the US territories, as well as records that cross state lines and span the globe.

Readers will also learn about records set in space and read what it takes to be a record breaker. There are even a few records listed that you can try to break yourself.

This fun and colorful book is sure to engage kids who love facts, and would be a great one to take along on your next road trip.

About the book: 96 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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