Milk Carton Gingerbread House
This milk carton gingerbread house is such an ADORABLE Christmas craft, and it’s so much fun to make! It’s the perfect way to get the whole family involved in a sweet holiday tradition, minus the worry of little hands sneaking bites when you turn your back!
If one house is this cute, imagine how festive a whole village of milk carton gingerbread houses will be! Use simple dollar store supplies to make a tiny town and display it on your mantel, coffee table, or as a charming winter centerpiece!
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How to Make a Milk Carton Gingerbread House
Materials:
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Clean an empty milk carton
- Wash the inside of an empty milk carton well, and let it dry upside-down overnight with the cap off.
Step 3: Cut a door and windows in the milk carton
- Use a permanent marker to draw a door and windows onto the milk carton.
- Use a craft knife to cut these pieces out of the carton.Then at the back of the house cut an opening at the bottom, about 3 by 3 inches in size, for the candle to fit in.
Step 4: Cut foam pieces
- Cut window and door frames from white craft foam using a craft knife.These should fit around the openings on the carton.
- Measure and cut 2 pieces of white craft foam. They should be the width of the milk carton and about 1 inch longer than the top section.
- Draw some wavy, drippy lines across one edge of both pieces of foam.
- Cut both pieces of foam along the wavy lines.This will be the snow coming off the roof.
Step 5: Paint the milk carton
- Paint the outside of the milk carton brown and allow to dry.Add another 2 to 3 coats of paint, if necessary, drying in-between coats.
Step 6: Add the door and window details
- Cut parchment paper into smaller pieces, slightly larger than the milk carton’s door and windows.
- Add tape to at least 2 edges of the parchment paper and insert it into the milk carton through one of the larger openings.
- Place the parchment paper so it covers the inside of the windows, pressing on the tape to secure it in place.You can also use 1 larger piece of parchment paper to cover more than 1 window.
- Repeat until all the openings (except the one at the back bottom) are covered.
- Add the foam frames around each of the door and windows.Use hot glue or tacky glue. Or, if your craft foam is adhesive, simply remove the backing and press it into place.
Step 7: Add the foam roof
- Remove the cap and set the wavy edged foam piece on top of the carton, straight side up.Line up the flat piece with the top of the carton and figure out where the spout sits. Use a craft knife to cut slits into the foam here.
- Press the foam flat onto the carton, pushing the spout through the slits in the foam.
- Cut the foam around the base of the spout, removing the foam flaps created by the slits.
- Glue the foam into place, pressing it down so the edges line up nicely with the top and sides of the carton.
- Add the cap back onto the carton.
- Then glue the second wavy piece of foam to the other top side of the carton.
Step 8: Add details and decorations
- Cut and glue any other foam details you want onto your gingerbread house. We added 2 small trees to ours.(Use one of our Christmas tree templates or gingerbread man templates.)
- Decorate the sides with a white acrylic paint pen and rhinestone stickers.
- Mimic gumdrops and other candy decorations by adding button stickers to the roof of the gingerbread house.
- Your milk carton gingerbread house is complete!
- Have fun making a whole gingerbread village from different sizes of milk cartons. Then place battery operated tealight candles inside and watch the houses glow!
Helpful Tips:
- Your local dollar store will carry lots of great supplies for decorating your milk carton gingerbread houses. You can also decorate it as a regular house dressed up for Christmas by adding miniature ornaments, stocking stickers, or even stringing some fairy lights along the edge of the roof!
- If your craft foam doesn’t have an adhesive backing and you don’t want the mess of hot glue, you can use glue tape or sticky dots to attach the window frames, door frame, and decorations to your gingerbread house milk carton.
- You can also use a milk carton to create a strong base for a classic gingerbread house. Glue graham crackers around the carton and use traditional decorations like icing and candy.
What if I don’t have parchment paper for the windows of my milk carton gingerbread house?
Tissue paper, wax paper, thin crepe paper, and rice paper are all great alternatives to parchment paper. They’ll cover the windows while still letting the light shine through!
Do I need craft foam to make milk carton gingerbread houses?
Craft foam gives a great frosting look, but there are definitely other materials you can use! Cardstock and construction paper are both excellent options. You can also try puffy paint to get that 3D look!
Can I make a gingerbread house out of something other than a milk carton?
Of course! Any small box will do! Try to use boxes made of thinner cardboard, like tissue boxes, so it’s easier to cut the windows. Boxes made of thicker cardboard, like shipping boxes, will also work. They’ll just be a little harder to cut.
This milk carton gingerbread house is the perfect way to bring some extra holiday cheer to your home! Plus, it’s built to last for years to come, so no more worrying about your gingerbread house crumb-ling under the pressure of hungry kids.


Here’s even more light-up house craft ideas:
Twinkling Paper Roll Christmas Village
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada