Kids will love turning an ordinary brown paper bag into a festive gingerbread house this holiday season! This paper bag gingerbread house craft gives them the chance to decorate with candy canes and gumdrops without any sticky mess. You’ll only need a few simple supplies for your little ones to create their colorful creations and make sweet memories.

This gingerbread house craft is a sweet way to keep little hands busy and imaginations cooking up designs. After you’ve tried this fun activity, be sure to explore even more Christmas crafts that will keep kids creating all season long!

Two decorated brown paper bags are designed to look like gingerbread houses, featuring colorful candy shapes, windows, and doors drawn or glued onto the bags. One has a curved roof with peppermint decorations, while the other has a straight roof with rainbow gumdrop shapes along the top.

Gingerbread House Paper Bag Craft

Who knew a paper bag could turn into something so sweet? Kids will love designing a gingerbread house with bright colors and candy decorations of their choosing. They can mix and match to bring their house to life.

There are two fun ways to create this gingerbread house paper bag craft. Kids can color in a black-and-white template before assembling it on a paper bag, or they can cut and paste colored pieces using construction paper or cardstock to build their masterpiece.

Download our template and grab a few supplies so everyone can start designing their own houses and create a whole village to decorate with this Christmas.

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Supplies

Brown paper bag
Colored cardstock or construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Markers
Tape
Gingerbread House Template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)

Click here to see our favorite kids’ craft supplies.

Directions

Start by downloading and printing the template. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this gingerbread house to life!

Hands holding a printable gingerbread house craft template for kids with candy decorations, perfect for Christmas coloring and cut-and-paste activities.

Let your child grab their favorite crayons or markers and start decorating each candy and house piece with bright, festive colors. It’s a great way for kids to express their creativity and warm up their motor skills.

Hands coloring a gingerbread house printable with markers, a festive Christmas craft activity for preschool and kindergarten kids.

Take your brown paper bag and help your child glue the decorated door piece at the bottom center of the front side. This marks the entryway to their very own gingerbread house.

Hands gluing a pink gingerbread house door onto a brown paper bag, creating a simple Christmas craft for kids.

Click here to see why I recommend these craft supplies

Glue the window piece above the door. This helps your child start building visual structure and design.

Hands attaching a colorful window cutout above the door on a brown paper bag to make a gingerbread house Christmas craft for kids.

Place a candy cane on each side of the door. These add a sweet festive touch and make the door area pop with color!

Hands gluing candy cane decorations beside the door on a gingerbread house paper bag craft, a festive Christmas activity for kids.

Gently fold the top of the paper bag to the back. This will create a flat surface to help the roof piece sit nicely on top when you’re ready to glue it.

Hands holding the top of a gingerbread house paper bag craft, preparing to add candy decorations for a fun Christmas activity for kids.

Now glue on the main roof piece, lining it up with the folded top. This step makes it instantly look like a real gingerbread house!

Hands folding the top of a gingerbread house paper bag craft to prepare for attaching the roof cutout, a creative Christmas activity for kids.

Decorate the roof with all those sweet peppermint and candy cutouts. Let your child choose where to place each piece.

Hands attaching a peppermint candy cutout to the roof of a gingerbread house paper bag craft, completing a festive Christmas activity for kids.

Flip the paper bag over, stuff the inside of the paper bag with paper or a some small rocks, so the house can stand upright. Use a small piece of tape or glue to hold down the folded top.

Hands taping the back of a paper bag to secure the roof piece of a gingerbread house craft, a fun and easy Christmas project for kids.

Isn’t this paper bag gingerbread house just the cutest? It’s such a fun and easy way to get crafty with your little one this holiday season. While you’re here, be sure to check out our favorite paper bag crafts!

Hand holding a gingerbread house paper bag craft decorated with colorful stars, Christmas trees, and a heart, a festive holiday project for kids.

Paper Strip Reindeer Craft

Christmas Books For Children

Dasher: This wonderfully illustrated Christmas book for kids gives you the back story on one of Santa’s favorite reindeer, Dasher! Girls will especially love to read this since Dasher is a girl.

Construction Site On Christmas Night: Fans of the fun characters of the construction site books have to add this Christmas-themed story to their collection. See how the trucks get ready for Christmas!

How To Catch An Elf: Kids everywhere love the silliness of this Christmas story. The rhymes and the illustrations will draw the kids in as well. This is a Christmas book kids will want to read every year!

Hand holding a finished gingerbread house paper bag craft decorated with candy canes, peppermints, and a wreath, a colorful Christmas activity for kids.

Easy Christmas Crafts

Torn Paper Grinch Craft – Your little Whos will have a blast making The Grinch out of torn paper! Let them rip, tear, and glue the Grinch’s face either in a smile or a mischievous look.

It’s up to them which look they choose! This activity is a jolly way to keep the fun of the story going, so be sure to grab our free template.

collage image of 4 Easy Christmas Crafts

Handprint Christmas Gnome Craft – Even the gnomes are getting in on the holiday fun! Kids will love creating these jolly little Christmas gnomes using their handprints for the fluffy beards.

They can add bright Christmas lights and choose festive colors to give each gnome a one-of-a-kind look that’s full of holiday cheer.

Easy Santa Cup Craft

Polar Bear Christmas Craft – Your little cubs can get into some chilly fun with the cutest Christmas polar bear! This jolly bear comes decked out in a Santa hat and holding a candy cane, ready for holiday smiles. It’s a playful way to keep kids busy while counting down to the big day!

Santa Chimney Craft – Santa’s making his grand entrance coming down the chimney! Kids will have so much fun creating Santa popping out of the chimney on his way to deliver more gifts. It’s a festive way to get creative, add some holiday cheer, and keep little hands busy while they wait for Christmas to arrive!

Preschool Christmas Activities

These free printable reindeer tracing worksheets are full of merry fun for little learners! Kids can trace a festive reindeer, then color it in to bring it to life.

The pages filled with zigzag and wavy lines will help them strengthen fine motor skills as they guide their pencil through the paths. The Rr letter tracing page lets them practice writing the letter in uppercase and lowercase using dashed lines as a guide.

collage image of 4 Preschool Christmas Activities

These gingerbread man do a dots are full of sweet fun for the holiday season! Kids will love using their dot markers to dot their way through letters, numbers, and adorable gingerbread friends.

It’s a cheerful mix of play and learning as they count, recognize letters, and build fine motor skills with activities from dotting the letter Gg to decorating a gingerbread man! These pages are a festive way to keep little hands happily busy!

Christmas Dot To Dot Printables

These Christmas pattern worksheets make learning time jolly! Festive images like gifts, ornaments, and snowmen will capture kids’ attention and turn practice into play.

As they figure out what comes next, they’re giving their little brains a big boost in logic and problem solving, and cutting and pasting helps their fine motor skills grow stronger. Each festive puzzle is a merry challenge that keeps kids engaged.

Two completed gingerbread house paper bag crafts decorated with colorful cutouts, perfect for a festive Christmas activity for kids.

Bring the fun of a favorite holiday book to life with these Merry Christmas, Mr. Mouse companion printables! Kids can size up mice from biggest to smallest, practice writing the letter Mm, and enjoy dotting their way around a merry Mm page. These playful activities make learning feel festive and fun!

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

Finished gingerbread house paper bag craft decorated with candy canes, peppermint swirls, and colorful rooftop lights, a cheerful Christmas project for kids.

5 from 4 votes