Gingerbread Day!
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We have a holiday tradition in our family that both kids have ranked as one of their favorite family Advent activities. They ask me to put it on the Advent calendar every year. Gingerbread Day!
What is Gingerbread Day? It is a day in December when my kiddos do every gingerbread-themed activity I can find. Grouping it all into one day makes it extra fun! We combine all of our fun gingerbread Christmas activities into one awesome day.
Technically, National Gingerbread Day is observed in June, but that feels kind of weird. My family associates gingerbread with Christmas, so we prefer to celebrate in December.
Gingerbread Day Activities
Read Gingerbread Books
I love any excuse to add books to an activity and this is a natural fit.
There are tons of gingerbread book options to read:
- The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
- The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst
- The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup
- Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Extend the learning by reading a few versions of this classic tale to compare.
Related: The Best Gingerbread Books
Bake gingerbread cookies
I like to bake using healthy ingredients so that I can say yes to cookies for breakfast.
These gingerbread men from Elena’s Pantry are easy to make and taste delicious. The dough does need to chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, so mix up the dough before moving on to other fun Gingerbread Day activities.
- Includes: 4″ Brown Moose, 3.5″ Green Tree, 3.25″ Brown Owl, 3.5″ Brown Grizzly Bear, 3″ Red Maple Leaf, 3″ Orange Fish, and Yellow Mini Oak Leaf
- Polyresin coated tinplated steel cutters in a clear acetate box
- High-quality cutters cut through a variety of doughs easily and can also be used on sandwiches, fondant or craft clay – don’t limit your imagination!
Last update on 2026-09-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This year we branched out from just gingerbread people. Grandma and Pappy brought us Yellowstone cookie cutters after their trip this summer, so we added them in with the standard Christmas cookie cutters. We made gingerbread people, buffalo, moose, bears, and evergreen trees.
- Set of 6 tinplated steel Northwoods outdoor and nature themed/shaped cookie cutters
- Includes: 4″ Deer Head, 4.5″ Salmon, 4.5″ Loon, 3.5″ Bear, 4″ Tree, and 4″ Moose
- High-quality cutters cut through a variety of doughs easily and can also be used on sandwiches, fondant or craft clay – don’t limit your imagination!
Last update on 2026-09-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
They are decorated with unsweetened coconut, pecans, raisins, and sprinkles.
Decorate a gingerbread house
Pre-built gingerbread houses are definitely worth the extra few dollars! My mom always made amazing gingerbread houses from scratch, but I didn’t inherit that gene. The pre-built houses sell out quickly, so buy one whenever you see it.
I have zero gingerbread architect skills, so our homemade houses always collapse . . . usually while we are still adding candy. The pre-built houses take most of the frustration out of this activity.
This is also a really good time to use up any leftover Halloween candy. The candy that is left over at this point is stuff that my kids don’t really like, so this is a fun way to finally make the treat bucket disappear.
My favorite part of this year’s gingerbread house is the Tootsie Roll firewood by the back door.
Take a GINGERBREAD walk
We had shockingly nice weather on Gingerbread Day this year, so we added a walk to our annual routine. Sunny December days in Washington can not be wasted. We turned this walk around our neighborhood into a Gingerbread Day activity by looking for items that begin with the letters in the word ‘gingerbread’.
Here is what we noticed this year:
G – green
I – igloo
N – nine
G – garage
E – eight
R – rocks
B – bunny
R – roof
E – electric lights
A – airplane
D – door
When my kids were little, we always made a fresh batch of gingerbread play dough. Gingerbread play dough is just regular homemade play dough with ground ginger and cinnamon added to the mix. The spices make it smell fantastic! The recipe is nontoxic in case your little ones decide to take a little nibble.
Homemade play dough lasts all holiday season as long as it is stored in a sealed container.
Love the idea of a Gingerbread Day? Pin this to save so you can find it again!
Keep reading . . .
- Awesome Christmas Homeschool Activities
- Gingerbread Christmas Book and Activities
- Best Gingerbread-Themed Books
- 12 Sweet Christmas Books and Activities
- Christmas Doughnut Bar
- Last-Minute Advent Activities That Take Very Little Planning
- Free Printable Homeschool Christmas Planner
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