Gingerbread Houses

This is what it takes to win a gingerbread house competition—and then some.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, the Skytop Lodge, and other luxury hotels are constructing life-size gingerbread houses, some with working fireplaces.

From the house in the beloved fairytale Hansel and Gretel to the antagonist in a bad Gary Busey movie, gingerbread has played lots of roles over the years, but none as prominent as during the holidays. That's when gingerbread villages pop up in store windows, living rooms and even the White House, and smiling gingerbread men with those cute little buttons move into bakeshops everywhere.

Gourmet gingerbread kits for holidays shipped direct to you from Gingerbread Traditions. Gingerbread house kits make fun gifts for friends and relatives...

Amazon.com: gingerbread houses kit

Learn how to make gingerbread houses and no-bake cookie cottages from the experts at Martha Stewart Living.

For a kid-friendly project, make this Gingerbread House recipe from Food Network, equipped with gumdrops, licorice, peppermint and, of course, Royal Icing.

Find and save ideas about Gingerbread houses on Pinterest. | See more about Christmas gingerbread house, Gingerbread house decorating ideas and Icing for gingerbread houses.

We've decided to visit with Christmas past and share some of our all-time favorite gingerbread houses from Good Housekeeping's annual gingerbread contest throughout the years. Take a look at the best houses in the gingerhood!