By: John G. Simon

We have a wonderful family tradition of building gingerbread houses for the holiday season. It’s fun for everyone involved. Mom gets to bake cookies, dad gets to construct something and the kids get to eat the building supplies. Everyone has a great time and has something nice to show for it.

Everything goes smoothly each year with baking and measurements. The only issue we’ve had EVERY year has been fixing the roof to the housing structure.  Imagine getting the 4 walls of your gingerbread house nicely glued together with the sugary egg whip “caulk” only to then have the roof pieces keep sliding down the sloped peaks.  In years past we’ve tried many crazy ways to keep the roof in place until the glue dried.  All of them were unsuccessful attempts to cheat gravity. There seemed to be no good way but to hold it together by hand for an hour until it all solidified.

That nonsense changed last year when I got out the power drill!

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. With the simple act of drilling two holes to the peaks of each roof, a gingerbread house construction worker can secure the pieces with a bit of string.  This solves the whole problem. The roof stays together and hangs on tight.  No longer do I have to stand around for an hour hoping it’s all dried. This fix is instant.  The decoration can begin immediately. The fun starts quicker and the finished product look better too since the roof is actually ON the house.

If you’ve never made a gingerbread house with your family, give it a try. It’s a lot of work, but you’re investing that time in memories. We think it’s worth while and the kids look forward to it every year.

Here’s a link to the recipe and template we’ve been using the past couple of years.  If you have any other tips leave a comment.  Maybe I’m doing something wrong that I need to get out the tools.   But is it ever wrong to get out power tools?

Wishing you a great holiday season!