Creating A Gingerbread Christmas Tablescape To Last

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The first Christmas Charlie and I were married, we set out to make a gingerbread house. We slaved over the dough, cut the right proportions, made the icing, added each detail. It was so much fun, but by the end of the process, we were exhausted! A few days later, when hosting my in-laws for Christmas Eve dinner, we were so proud to showcase our gingerbread house that we displayed it right in our dining room. Kindly, they said they were impressed…until… about halfway through our dinner, we noticed out of the corner of our eyes that our hard earned gingerbread house roof suddenly caved in and our walls came tumbling down. We all got quite the chuckle and despite our best efforts to make it last, had a funny story to tell instead. That being said, with our past experience and food prices rising, this year I wanted to make a gingerbread house that would have a little more longevity. While you can’t pop a candy in your mouth as you pass by this gingerbread house, it is fun and festive and such a great activity for kids and adults alike. By creating a gingerbread Christmas tablescape to last you can enjoy your creation all season long and you won’t even have to be concerned about your roof collapsing during Christmas Eve dinner with your in-laws.

Making A Gingerbread House Centerpiece

Supplies

Plain cardboard
Utility knife
Metal ruler
Tape
White paint pen

Steps:

Step 1: When first creating your gingerbread house, measure your table / space to determine the size you want. Once you have determined the size you need, cut 4 rectangles for the sides. My front and back rectangles were 7”H x 26” W, while the two side rectangles were 7”H x 4”W.

Step 2: Next, fold a piece of tape and use it to hold your front and back rectangles together. To have an even skyline, you want to cut your front and back cardboard pieces at the same time. Repeat the tape step to cut the side cardboard rectangles as well.

Step 3: Working with your metal ruler, cut a variety of triangles or boxes out of the top of the cardboard to create a skyline. Each section will become a “house”, so you can have tall skinny rooflines like a church steeple, wide sloped roof lines for a house, flat rooflines for a skyscraper…truly whatever your heart desires. Feel free to draw it out in pencil first to ensure you like the composition.

Step 4: Once all of your skylines are cut, use your white paint pen to divide the cardboard into individual “houses”. Be sure that your skylines match up and that you draw on the right side of the cardboard. Next, fill in each house with designs of windows, doors, trim and ornamentation. While the skylines will match up, feel free to make each house unique and special, so they don’t have to be exact replicas on either side. This part is a great activity to do with your spouse, kids or even a group of friends to keep your gingerbread memories for years to come!

Step 5: Finally, once all the sides of your gingerbread house are complete, tape or glue the inside seam of each corner and viola you have a gingerbread house centerpiece!

Creating A Gingerbread Christmas Tablescape To Last

Setting Your Gingerbread Christmas Tablescape

After you have completed your gingerbread house, fill it with greenery and candles for a more complete look. With short candle holders covered in greenery, the candles will have the appearance of rising from the gingerbread house, but their bases will be hidden. If you have large candle holders, but want them to be covered, be sure you take their measurements into account when determining the height of your house in Step 1 above. My candle holders were larger than I wanted, so Charlie and I drilled a few holes in small blocks of wood we had on hand to use as holders. While not glamorous, the wooden blocks are a great option as they hold the candles really well and are not seen once covered in greenery.

Similarly, if you do fill it with candles, do be mindful that they are dripless, flameless tapers or even use glass hurricane candle holders to ensure safety. Since the gingerbread house is cardboard and is filled with fresh greenery, I would not leave candles unattended unless they are flameless or have hurricanes to prevent any hazards. Unfortunately, I did not realize that my candles were not dripless and I made my house without accounting for the size of glass hurricanes, so I won’t be lighting my candles. That being said, I still love the look of the entire centerpiece and had so much fun creating it! If you want the look of the candles but don’t plan to light them, feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

With the house just being cardboard, this centerpiece is great for anyone to make, and can be particularly a fun spin if kids are involved. If you are looking for a fun, festive, budget friendly Christmas tablescape, this one definitely is for you!

Use What You Love

Finally, when creating a gingerbread Christmas tablescape, don’t be afraid to repurpose items you already have and love! Social media can make it seem that you have to have a new theme or décor item each Christmas, but sometimes family favorites or household staples used in a fresh way can style the best tablescape. For this tablescape, I ironed a scarf I have had for YEARS to act as a table runner, used our everyday dishes as the place settings, red cloth napkins my nana passed down to me (if you like cloth napkins or vintage looking pieces and don’t already have some from a family member, I highly recommend checking out antique stores; they frequently have the best linen selection for a steal!), rosemary cut from the garden and Christmas tree name holders that I bought probably 4 years ago. By mixing in fresh rosemary, adding handmade greenery wreaths around our lights and making the gingerbread house out of an empty box we had on hand, our dining space looks totally different than last year but still has the same comforting bones. Use what you love and if that means buying a new piece to compliment your old ones, then definitely go for it, but don’t hesitate to use your tried and true favorites. It is those pieces that make a space feel like YOUR home.

Final Thoughts

The Christmas season is truly one of my favorite times of year and making fun holiday projects that adorn the house and our table is such a joy. This gingerbread Christmas tablescape definitely falls in that category for me, and thankfully, I can rest easy this year knowing that my creation won’t collapse on Christmas Eve! And even, for some reason if it does, I will get the joy of the memory that we can laugh about around the table for years to come. Do you have any funny Christmas stories you reminisce on around the table?

Happy house making!