These gingerbread houses are simply a work of art!
The magical atmosphere of the Christmas and New Year holidays is felt most vividly in Europe. And this is not surprising, because the inhabitants of European countries approach the process of pre-holiday preparation with all responsibility. Already from the first days of December, you can see how the streets of the cities of the Old World are transformed, acquiring a lot of shining garlands and hundreds of cute New Year decorations.
One of these primordially European New Year’s decorations is the gingerbread house. And although this festive attribute belongs more to the category of delicacies, its beauty allows you to use gingerbread as a Christmas and New Year decor. Fortunately, you can enjoy the beauty of gingerbread houses not only in Europe, because making this attribute is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. LuxeFair will tell you exactly about this today.
The house where the gods live
The history of gingerbread houses dates back to the days of Ancient Rome. The inhabitants of this state baked buns in the form of peculiar huts for the New Year holidays, and then set them up near the altars. The ancient Romans believed that on New Year’s Eve, deities settled inside such treats. Interestingly, the next morning the bun-huts were eaten by the owners of the house as a sign of unity with the Gods.
The European history of gingerbread houses dates back to 1812. It was at this time that the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Grenzel and Gretel” was published in Germany. The plot of this tale was built around a magical gingerbread house, within the walls of which an evil witch lived.
The idea of a gingerbread house was so liked by European residents that they decided to translate this delicacy into reality. Local chefs and culinary specialists have developed many recipes for making dough for houses, thanks to which the treat did not stale and did not spoil for many days.
Since then, the gingerbread house, decorated with icing, marmalade, honey molasses, chocolate and other sweets, has become an obligatory attribute of the Christmas and New Year holidays. In honor of him, fairs and competitions are organized, the exhibits of which sometimes resemble decorative and culinary masterpieces.
Interesting ideas: how to make a delicious gingerbread house with your own hands
The New Year’s gingerbread house really resembles a small masterpiece, but you can make it even without having outstanding culinary skills. In the process of preparing this delicacy, it is important to adhere to the specified recipe, because changing even the smallest ingredient can compromise the strength of the dough. Every detail of the house is baked according to pre-prepared forms or patterns, and then joined together using hot caramel or honey syrup.
The gingerbread house is not an ordinary dessert, as it also plays the role of an important decorative element. In Europe, on Christmas night, it is customary to install a house on a windowsill, illuminating it from the inside with a small flashlight. Often this delicacy is supplemented with figures of ginger men or cakes made in the form of animals, thereby turning it into a kind of nativity scene. That is why decorating a gingerbread house has become almost a separate form of culinary art.
There are absolutely no canons in the process of decorating a gingerbread house. The most important thing is that the sweet composition delights you with its beauty and originality. For example, the roof of a gingerbread house can be supplemented with edible tiles lined with air cushions, colorful M & M’s, glazed peanuts, jelly candies, marmalade, etc. If you want your gingerbread house to be buried in snow, decorate it with whipped cream, snow-white icing, powdered sugar, mastic, and marshmallows.
In the original, a luminous flashlight is installed inside the composition. But if you are making a small gingerbread house, you can hardly fit even the smallest light source in it. However, you can achieve the effect of inner radiance using yellow mastic or marzipan glaze applied to areas of window openings.
If the process of baking a gingerbread house seems very difficult to you, do not worry, because the Swedish brand IKEA produces sets of gingerbread blanks for creating a Christmas treat. All you need to do is seal the cookies with caramel, molasses or glaze and decorate the house to your liking. Surely such sets for gingerbread houses can be found today in many supermarkets.
New Year’s houses from alternative materials: original decor for the holiday
Already from the name it is clear that the gingerbread house is, first of all, a delicacy. However, if you want to use it exclusively as a New Year’s decor, then it is not at all necessary to bake a house, because it can also be made from salted dough, which is highly durable and strong. In addition, salted dough can be painted with ordinary paints, thereby bringing notes of originality and expressiveness to the decor of the composition.
In addition, a New Year’s house can be made literally from any available materials – cardboard, milk or juice bags, felt, thick fabric, etc. In this case, the choice of decorative elements for the house will depend on the materials you use.
For example, a cardboard gingerbread house can be decorated with paper appliques, gift ribbons, Christmas bows, etc. On a house made of felt, decor in the form of embroidery, buttons, rhinestones, beads, fluffy decorative wire and other similar materials will look harmonious. If you love polymer clay products and want to make a gingerbread house from this material, use multi-colored modeling and themed accessories that will turn your house into an original and bright Christmas decoration.
The gingerbread house will bring New Year’s magic and festive comfort to your interior. In addition, this product will give you a lot of pleasant emotions already at the stage of its creation, because making a house is an incredibly creative and exciting process.