DIY camping gingerbread house display for beginners

Whether you’re entering a gingerbread house competition or just having a party with family, here’s how to make a fun and festive camping gingerbread house. This creation includes a camping trailer, truck, campfire, picnic table, trees and lots of cute black bears. Check it out!

*Camping-themed gingerbread house display*

Last year I entered a gingerbread house competition at our local mall. I am a novice baker, so this was a good learning experience for me. However, despite my non-existent skills, I think it turned out pretty good. Here’s how I made it and what I learned along the way. Check it out!

Gather your gingerbread supplies

You’re going to need a bunch of ingredients/supplies to make your camping gingerbread house. Here’s a list of the main things you’ll need:

Wooden board or similar platform
Homemade gingerbread (graham crackers won’t do)
Royal frosting
Fondant
Cinnamon candies
Frosting piping kit
Jolly ranchers
Food coloring
Powdered sugar
Coconut flakes
Christmas tree cookie cutter set

Make your truck, camping trailer and picnic table

Obviously, the hardest part of this gingerbread display is going to be the truck and camping trailer. But I just made your life a lot easier because I have a template that you can use to make these. Just download the free template below and cut out each shape.

Gingerbread house camper template Download

Next, make a big batch of gingerbread dough and roll it out on the counter. Place your cutout templates on the dough and cut them out and cook them in the oven.

*Cutting out each shape into the gingerbread dough*

Don’t forget to label each shape so you don’t get them mixed up. Keep all of the left over scraps of cooked gingerbread because you’ll need them for miscellaneous parts to the display.

*Cooked pieces of gingerbread ready to be assembled*

You might need to cut some of the edges so they are straighter. Then, frost each piece with royal frosting. This was my first time frosting gingerbread with royal frosting. It didn’t turn out perfect like you see on those cookie frosting videos on social media. But it wasn’t bad. The red frosting color bled a little bit onto the white frosting, but no biggie.

*Frost the gingerbread pieces with royal frosting*

Glue all of your gingerbread pieces together with royal frosting. I tried gluing them together with boiling sugar because it dried quicker, but over time it didn’t hold. They fell apart. Royal frosting works way better. Fill in the windows with melted jolly ranchers. Before you place anything on the wooden platform, spread a layer of royal frosting over the it to hide the brown color.

Build your Christmas trees

Using your star Christmas tree cutters, make various gingerbread stars of differing sizes.

*Star gingerbread cookies for the trees*

Starting with the largest star, stack the star cookies in an alternating pattern on top of each other until you form something that resembles a pine tree. Attach each cookie to each other with royal frosting as you stack. Save the smallest star so it can be placed on the top.

*Stack the gingerbread stars largest to smallest*

Finish the star trees by placing a dollop of green frosting and a cinnamon candy on each branch. Then sprinkle powdered sugar over each tree with a small mesh strainer.

I made three star cookie trees (two big and one small) and four sugar cone trees covered in green sprinkles. You can make as many as you want!

Add finishing touches

Once your camping trailer, truck and trees are done (phew!), it’s time to add the cute little bears. I bought some fondant on Amazon and formed these cute little black bears. I made five black bears and one snowman. Each of them are doing some kind of fun Christmas activity like roasting marshmallows and ice skating. And don’t forget to make your picnic table (template included in the download above).

*Black bears and snowman made from fondant*

You can attach the small pieces of fondant together with just a little dab of water. I also made the presents, sled and pile of snowballs out of fondant too. I made the pond and the campfire flames with a few melted Jolly Rancher candies.

Finally, to make the snow, blend a few cups of shredded coconut until you get the consistency of snow. Spread it all over the ground.

*Arial view of finished camping gingerbread display*

Even though my camping gingerbread house wasn’t perfect, I was still really happy with the way it turned out. It was fun to try something outside of my comfort zone. Even though I didn’t win the gingerbread house competition, I loved participating. It was so much fun. Here’s some pictures of some of the other gingerbread houses at the competition.