Graham Cracker and Candy House
I’ve been doing this craft for years and years. It started with a cute little one page idea in Family Circle (or was it Family Fun?), using individual milk cartons. I couldn’t get milk cartons- the school wouldn’t collect them for me as the children threw them out after use. So I came up with a template for the base, using graham crackers as the measurement. The template is four graham crackers high and a half graham cracker wide. On a side note, did you know that the size of graham crackers has shrunk in the last ten years? I had to redo my template.
What you need:
- canned frosting
- graham crackers (at least 5 per house)
- pull and peel Twizzlers
- cereal- Life makes great shingles
- spray frosting (we used “Cheese Whiz” style)
- smarties, red hots, mini marshmallows and other small candies (note, better to get less popular candy)
- paper plates
- knives (plastic is fine)
Assemble the house out of thin cardboard. I find the cardboard used in gift boxes is the ideal thickness. To attach the graham crackers, spread a thin layer of frosting on the cracker and press in on to the house. For the side pieces, carefully break the cracker in half along the break line. There will be a bare spot above the side- it could be filled in with frosting and candy.
Decorate your house! It is amazing to see the kids’ creativity. No house is alike. If doing a large class, the spray frosting will disappear fast- some kids will empty the entire bottle on their creation! I will sometimes hold some frosting in reserve, so that everyone gets an equal chance for the supplies.
Make sure you take pictures of their creations, as sometimes they disappear mysteriously on the way home.
