New: 24 Doors, a free advent calendar by email.Join free

Step by step · ages 3 to 8

How to draw a gingerbread house

A house you can eat, in theory. On paper, the roof is made of icing.

The easy house is a square, a roof with wavy icing, a door and sweets. The harder one has candy cane posts, a round window and a LOT of gumdrops.

Watch it draw itselfThe stepsPrint the step sheet

Watch, then draw

Watch it draw itself

The red lines are the new ones. Draw them on your paper, then press Next step. Or press play and watch the whole thing first.

Step 1 of 4

Let's draw a gingerbread house! First, the roof with wavy icing and a chimney.

The video, with a voice for every step

0:26 long, the easy version. Pause it after each step while the pencils catch up.

How to draw a gingerbread house, step by step

Easy, ages 3 to 5 · 4 steps

  1. Step 1. Let's draw a gingerbread house! First, the roof with wavy icing and a chimney.

  2. Step 2. Now the walls under the roof, with a line down the corner.

  3. Step 3. Now two square windows and a round door between them.

  4. Step 4. Last, round candy gumdrops along the roof. Yummy!

A bit harder, ages 6 to 8 · 8 steps

  1. Step 1. Let's draw a gingerbread house! First, the roof, with icing dripping off the edges.

  2. Step 2. Now a brick chimney on the roof, with a cap on top.

  3. Step 3. Now the walls under the roof, and a big icing plate underneath.

  4. Step 4. Now a round window with a cross, and an arched door with a knob.

  5. Step 5. Now candy cane posts at the corners, and two hooked canes by the door.

  6. Step 6. Now round gumdrops all along the roof edges.

  7. Step 7. Now little stripes across every candy cane.

  8. Step 8. Last, a few tiny sprinkles on the roof. What a sweet house!

Print · free, no sign-up

Two pages: every step with its words, then a frame to draw your own gingerbread house in. Black and white, US Letter or A4.

  • Easy, ages 3 to 5

    4 steps on page 1, a frame to draw in on page 2.

    PrintUS LetterA4

  • A bit harder, ages 6 to 8

    8 steps on page 1, a frame to draw in on page 2.

    PrintUS LetterA4

Free for home and classroom use. To pass them on, please share the link to this page and not the file.

Make it yours

  • Decorate every wall with a different sweet.
  • Draw a gingerbread family in the doorway.
  • Draw a path of round sweets leading to the door.

Rather color one in? Gingerbread house coloring pages, free to print or color on a phone or tablet.

Our own book

The Christmas Secret

A Christmas Eve picture book with a read-along · ages 3 to 7 · out on October 20

The gingerbread people of Santa's secret circus help the snowmen get every present ready in our book.

Out on October 20See inside the book

Questions

Grown-ups ask

How do you draw icing on the roof?

Follow the roof's edge with a wavy line, like drips, letting some drips hang lower than others. Then add a few round sweets along the top.

Which level should my child try?

Start with easy, whatever their age. Easy is a handful of big shapes, and a bit harder adds the small details. If easy is done in a minute, switch.

What do we need?

Paper and a pencil, and crayons or markers to color it in afterwards. A thick marker is easier for little hands than a pencil, and an eraser saves a lot of tears.

Can I print the steps?

Yes, free, in US Letter or A4, one for each level. Print at 100% so the steps come out big enough to copy. All 16 drawings in one file come by email, from the box on this page.

More Christmas drawings

More Christmas

Or see all of them on one page, from the weeks before Christmas to the night itself.