Sugar Chalet

Making a gingerbread house doesn't have to be difficult. I'm Lee Woodruff at the craft table with Family Fun. This Alpine chalet made be from graham crackers is a cinch for even first time home builders.

For the materials you need to craft knives and scissors cardboard six pack container, masking tape, yellow cellophane, hot glue gun and glue, a pocket flashlight or a battery operated candlelight and corrugated cardboard. To decorate your chalet you'll need white royal icing, graham crackers, pretzel nibs, vanilla wafer cookies, large marshmallows, red licorice twists, Golden Graham cereal, cherry Starburst candies, Starlight mints, Life Savers and confectionery sugar.

First create the basic structure using a craft knife, a parent's job, cut out windows on the long side of the container. After cutting out the inner structure tape a large piece of cellophane behind the windows. From one of the short sides cut out a door to one side of the center seam. To make sure the light will fit inside try putting it through this door. On to the corrugated cardboard trace and cut out of pique wall for each short end and cut out the roof, as well. Glue the walls onto container and attach the roof. Now for the siding, starting with the front and sides of the house applied royal icing to each surface then press on the graham crackers. Here's a tip: leave a quarter-inch margin along the bottom of the house. The crackers may settle as they dry. Resize any crackers that don't fit by nibbling.

Time for the trim, now you can decorate your house however you like using icing to fix the decorations. We use pretzels, Nibs vanilla wafer cookies on the walls and a licorice twist front door. You're almost done, now for the roof cover one side of the roof with icing apply the bottom most row Golden Grahams then overlap each successive layer working upward. Repeat for the other side. Add a ridge pole for the chimney base. Cut two Starburst candies in half diagonally and attach them to the roof with icing border. Top with more Starburst bricks. Use scissors parents only to cut long thin triangles from the large marshmallows. Now attach these along the eaves with icing. For the final touches, add any other decorations you like such as the Life Savers around the front door, Starlight mint ornaments or confectioners sugar snow. Allow all frosting to dry about one hour then turn on the light and carefully slide it inside the house. You're on your way to creating an edible winter wonderland.