The best gingerbread house kits to buy in 2023

There are supermarket gingerbread house options from M&S and Waitrose starting at just £5, plus more elaborate ideas from Not on the High Street and Lakeland to stretch your skills.

If you’re starting from scratch, BBC Good Food’s Lulu Grimes will walk you through how to make gingerbread and offer her top tips for cutting, shaping and decorating the dough.

For more Christmas inspiration, visit our reviews section to find our best Christmas sandwich taste test, plus the ultimate foodie gift guide, our 5o budget Christmas gifts and the results of our 2022 Christmas Taste Awards. Discover more Christmas gifting inspiration with our best Christmas hampers, gin gifts or best baking gifts.

The best gingerbread house kits 2023

Lakeland traditional gingerbread house kit

• Available from Lakeland (£14.99)

The large triangular, colourful box containing Lakeland’s traditional gingerbread house is so pretty, and that’s even before opening and finding the delightful contents inside. As well as pre-cut, baked gingerbread pieces, there’s the most charming little gingerbread family, plus a dog and two bags of Smarties for decorating. All that’s needed is an egg white, a few drops of lemon juice, and elbow grease to whip up the royal icing to glue everything together. The Lakeland set is so easy to use, it fits together beautifully, and the little family and Christmas tree make the finished house wonderful. Lakeland also do a gluten-free gingerbread house so everyone can enjoy it.

Available from:
Lakeland (£14.99)

The Biscuiteers DIY pre-baked gingerbread kit

• Available from Biscuiteers (£38)

Presented in an ornately decorated square-edged tin, The Biscuiteers gingerbread house kit is a high-end treat that’s ready to assemble and suitable for the whole family. Inside, you’ll find the brand’s twice-baked gingerbread house pieces that have the snap you’d expect from gingerbread with the buttery crumble of shortbread. Vanilla-flavoured royal icing sugar, piping bags and an assortment of colourful decorations are also included. Alternatively, the brand’s gingerbread Christmas baubles DIY tin would make a perfect addition to any Christmas tree.

Available from:
Biscuiteers (£38)

Harvey Nichols DIY gingerbread house kit

• Available from Harvey Nichols (£7.95)

The Harvey Nichols gingerbread house kit is a tiny house at just 180g in finished weight, but it’s so pretty and straightforward to assemble once you make the royal icing to stick it together. In the box are gingerbread pieces and glittery sweets that look lovely against the white icing. All instructions are on the box, as are different ideas to take your decorating beyond what is included. If you want an egg-free house, they recommend using warm water instead to make the house. They also recommend leaving the house to set for 24 hours, after which it will be rock solid and much easier to decorate.

Available from:
Harvey Nichols (£7.95)

Waitrose gingerbread house kit

• Available from Waitrose (£6)

If you like mixing and baking the gingerbread house yourself, then this kit from Waitrose is for you. Included is a prepared gingerbread mix; you only need to add it to butter melted with honey or syrup. There’s a template to help you cut out the shapes, and even the icing sugar is ready to mix. We especially like the cut-out heart windows on the roof – boiled sweets are used during cooking, which come out glazed and all wonky and charming. The Waitrose kit is excellent for hands-on bakers and makes a lovely, characterful house for kids to decorate. It’s a bargain at £6.

Available from:
Waitrose (£6)

BakedIn gingerbread house kit

• Available from BakedIn (£9.99)

The design of this gingerbread house should make it one of the simplest to construct. The recipe itself is by Michel Roux, and the kit includes all the dry ingredients, a step-by-step recipe card, baking paper and sweets for decorating. The instructions are also online, which is a handy back-up if the recipe card gets marked by messy little fingers.

Available from:
BakedIn (£9.99)

Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate house kit

Although this isn’t your standard gingerbread house, this kit from Cadbury makes a great alternative. The compact kit comprises four firm Cadbury favourites: Dairy Milk Bar, Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland Edition, White Buttons and a Flake. Cement the walls together using melted Dairy Milk and decorate with the icing provided. For little elves who don’t enjoy the flavour of gingerbread, this Cadbury set ensures they can still have their fun.

Honeywell Biscuit Co gingerbread house kit

• Available from Honeywell Biscuit Co (£22), Not on the High Street (£22.50)

This kit starts you off making and baking the gingerbread, so it’s a great project for kids (and adults!) who love cooking. A template, recipe card, icing and sweets are all included, with a few extras to nibble on during the build. Buy this for your family or to give as a foodie gift – there’s also a gift-wrapping option which includes a personalised message.

Available from:
Honeywell Biscuit Co (£22)
Not on the High Street (£22.50)

Crumbs & Doilies gingerbread house baking and decorating kit

• Available from Crumbs & Doilies (£31.95)

If you want to splash out on a full day’s project, this is the gingerbread house kit for you. It has everything you need for baking (just add butter and an egg) and decorating a large house, including handy cardboard templates to cut around for each side. There’s also food colouring included to make your icing extra festive red or green. Try to resist snacking on all the sweets included for fabulous decoration and you’ll end up with a showstopping big house to display over the festive season. Instructions were clear and easy to follow, the icing was a doddle to mix together and we loved the results of our shiny boiled-sweets windows on each side.

Available from:
Crumbs & Doilies (£31.95)

Marks & Spencer Gingerbread House Kit

• Available from Ocado (£5.00)

The Marks and Spencer gingerbread house kit is the cheapest on our test at £5, and you get a lot of bang for your pennies. There’s no gingerbread or icing to make as it has all been done for you. Assembly is easy using the enclosed tray for support. And, as each gingerbread piece is meticulously scored where windows, doors and roof tiles are, the lines can be quickly filled using the enclosed icing tube with its plain nozzle. There are also decorative nozzles, sweets, and sugar decorations to use, so the house looks almost professional when finished. We loved this quality kit and its great price.

Available from:
Ocado (£5.00)

Gift ideas for Christmas

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More gingerbread recipes

Gingerbread loaf cake
Gluten free gingerbread
Ultimate easy gingerbread
Gingerbread latte
Gingerbread pancakes
Gingerbread cake with caramel biscuit icing
Lighter gingerbread
Gingerbread syrup

If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.