Halloween Gingerbread Houses Party Idea

If you need a fun Halloween party idea that’s not just trick or treating, host a Halloween gingerbread houses making party instead! Have people create haunted mansions from their favorite Halloween movies or just use their imagination!

All you need to host your own Halloween gingerbread house building night are things to make the walls, frosting, and some spooky toppings to finish off their creations! It’s an easy Halloween party idea that works for any age and may just become one of your new favorite annual Halloween activities!

Halloween Gingerbread House Making Party

My boys love making gingerbread houses at Christmas. Last year we did a Christmas movie themed gingerbread house night that was a huge hit, so I thought it’d be fun to keep that tradition going by making Halloween gingerbread houses – aka haunted mansions!

I sent them on this Halloween scavenger hunt and at the end was a table setup with everything we needed to make our very own haunted mansions!

It’s was one of the best Halloween party themes we’ve tried in a while and was so much fun to host! Mostly because I got to spend the night being creative and enjoying all of my favorite Halloween candies!

Plus, the kids and adults got really into it – my favorite kind of party! They were so busy making houses they didn’t even need Halloween games!

The beauty of any gingerbread house making night (Halloween or not) is that the supply possibilities are endless. As long as you have things they can use (typically gingerbread or graham crackers) to make walls, frosting, and treats to decorate – you’re golden!

Here’s what we provided for our Halloween gingerbread house night!

• Graham crackers – chocolate ones would be great if you can find them.
• Cookies – think Milanos and Oreos
• Chocolate Pop-Tarts (these were a hit!)
• Wafers – cookies and rolled ones are fun
• Chex Mix – the chocolate ones are great for roofs
• Halloween cereals like Cocoa Krispies, Cocoa Puffs, and Count Chocula cereal
• Peeps – ghosts and pumpkins are always a huge hit
• Candy corn (and any other Halloween candy)
• Gummies – bats, spiders, eyeballs, ect.
• Halloween chocolates – Reeses, KitKats, and so on.
• Icing – I use this recipe from Iheartnaptime and it works great.

These are just the things that we personally used because they were things I thought would be fun on our Halloween houses and things that our kids liked. You can add or take out anything – we went a little over the top, as we do, so you can do whatever works best with your budget an guests!

There is no right or wrong way to make Halloween gingerbread houses, which is probably why this was such a hit with everyone. As long as they have fun, they’re doing it right!

It’s completely up to the builders how they want to do it and what they want it to look like. This is the part where people get to get creative.

Make sure you set out a timer if you are doing a competition, otherwise, there are no rules for building. We had everything from a small little house to an Oreo pumpkin graveyard – they were all awesome!

Here are a couple of tips to help keep things a little less chaotic AND a few building tips so there are more towers and less tears!

Build houses on something sturdy like a cutting board, paper plate, or cookie sheet. This really helps when you want to transfer them at the end of the night!

Dye the icing in multiple colors so it can be used to decorate as well as construct. And make sure you have twice as much icing as you think you’ll need – we always run out!

Put a tablecloth down to make for an easier cleanup. No need to spend time scraping off the dried icing after everyone has gone home. Just wrap up the plastic tablecloth with all the icing and crumbs inside and throw the entire thing in the trash!

For classroom parties, prep materials ahead of time in muffin tins covered with plastic wrap. They are cheap and easy to transport. Simply remove the plastic wrap when you get there, and you’re ready to go.

Keep the mansions as decorations, or enjoy eating them piece by piece. Unlike actual gingerbread, these houses still taste great a day or two later!

Last but not least, have fun! The entire idea is to have an activity that you can do with your girlfriends, family, or even a bunch of students – it will be a little messy and chaotic but a lot of fun!

Pair this super interactive activity with something simpler like these Halloween would you rather questions or this Halloween i-spy for a quieter classroom activity!

Want some more fun Halloween party ideas to try along with your Halloween gingerbread house making? Try one of these!

• Halloween party snacks – try one of these a little more nutritious Halloween party snacks to go with the haunted mansions! You could even make this Halloween snack board!
• Halloween party favors – give out fun non-edible party favors with these Halloween gift tags to balance out all the sweets and treats!
• Halloween charcuterie board – if you want to have some actual snacks that aren’t just candy around, this char-boo-terie boar is perfect!
• Halloween punch – save some of those Halloween gummies for this zombie Halloween punch!
• Halloween charades – get the kiddos up and moving around after building their houses with this fun Halloween inspired version of the classic!