DIY Popsicle Stick Gingerbread House Ornaments: Step-by-Step Guide

Every year we make what I call “Ornament Grams”: small homemade ornaments from our son for close family members. I especially love popsicle stick ornaments and those that hide a photo inside. These DIY popsicle stick gingerbread house ornaments combine both ideas — a tiny picture tucked behind a little door — and they’re perfect for gifting or keeping as a family keepsake.

This is a flexible project that works for a wide range of ages. Young children can focus on painting and placing pieces while older kids can handle more of the cutting and detailed decorating. We did this with our three-year-old: he painted, glued and had a blast while I handled the trimming and small-detail work. Read on for the complete tutorial and tips to make your own.

Supplies You’ll Need

Aside from popsicle sticks, most materials can be improvised from craft leftovers. Use what you have — it keeps this project affordable and personal. Below are the items we used, but substitutions work great.

Here’s what we used:

• Popsicle sticks
• Wallet-sized photo
• Wooden beads (plain or pre-colored)
• Wooden discs (for faux peppermints)
• Puffy paint (for gumdrop texture)
• Glitter
• Faux leather, foam, felt or fabric (for the door)
• Red & white twine
• Brown, red, white and assorted rainbow paints
• Mod Podge
• Strong non-toxic glue
• Hot glue (optional for speed)

Assembling Popsicle Stick Gingerbread Houses

Follow these steps to build the base of the gingerbread house:

1. Gather eight popsicle sticks for the main panel. I trimmed mine to about two-thirds of the original length but choose the size you prefer. Save the trimmings if you want to make small gumdrops.

2. Lay the eight sticks side-by-side and glue a stick horizontally across the back near the bottom to hold them together. Trim that cross-piece to fit. Hot glue is fast; a strong craft glue will also work.

3. Flip the panel and glue another horizontal cross-piece along the top on the back.

4. Attach two sticks to the top to form the peaked roof triangle. Trim them to set the roof height you like.

5. Flip the piece front-side up and fill the triangular roof space by gluing short sticks horizontally. Use scrap trim pieces here. Once assembled, let glue dry and the house base is ready for paint.

How To Make the “Candy” Decorations

You can create lots of faux candy accents. Choose items appropriate for the child’s age to keep the project safe. Here are a few simple ideas we used:

– Peppermints: Use round wooden discs or beads. Paint a red and white swirl, let dry, then brush a Mod Podge-and-glitter mix over the surface to set the glitter.

– Gumballs: Paint plain wooden beads any color you like. Thread beads onto a bamboo skewer to paint them easily, then slide off to dry.

– Gumdrops: Cut small end pieces from your popsicle stick trimmings. Cover them with puffy paint for texture, let dry, then paint over with a Mod Podge/glitter mix and trim to size. Some pieces may crack slightly when cutting; the puffy paint helps hold them together and they look fine once glued on.

Decorating the Gingerbread House Ornaments

Finish the ornaments by painting, adding the hidden photo and attaching the door and trim:

1. Paint the assembled house a gingerbread brown and let it dry.

2. Decide on the door shape and size and cut a paper template.

3. Use the template to trace and cut your wallet-sized photo so it fits behind the door opening.

4. Glue the photo centered at the bottom of the house, where the door will cover it.

5. Arrange and glue your faux candy decorations on the house. For younger children, place the glue dots and let them stick the pieces on.

6. Cut a door from your chosen material (faux leather, felt, foam, etc.) using the same template as the photo.

7. Add trim to the door if you like — we used red-and-white twine around the edge and a small bead for a knob.

8. Apply glue along the left edge of the door’s back and attach that edge to the house so the door can swing open to reveal the photo.

9. Attach a loop of twine or ribbon to the back top of the house for hanging. If you prefer a magnet, glue a small magnet to the back instead of a hanging loop.

Photos by Jeff Mindell

More Ornament Ideas

• Christmas window popsicle stick ornament craft
• DIY Rudolph ornaments
• Ornament exchange and tradition ideas

I hope these popsicle stick gingerbread house ornaments inspire your next holiday craft with kids. They make sweet gifts and heartfelt keepsakes — don’t forget to date the back of each handmade ornament so you’ll remember when it was made.

If you try them, consider keeping an extra for your own tree — they’re just that charming.