Milk carton gingerbread houses for a class
Each child gets a washed half-pint milk carton, graham crackers for the walls and roof, a plate and some frosting. Enter your class size to get the shopping list. The default is 25 children.
- Milk cartons
- 25
- half-pint, one each
- Cracker sheets
- 90
- 75 used + 20% spare
- Frosting cans
- 5
- about 1 per 5 children
- Plates and sticks
- 25
- of each
Supplies by class size
| Children | Cartons | Cracker sheets | Boxes | Frosting cans | Plates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 15 | 15 | 54 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| 20 | 20 | 72 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 25 | 25 | 90 | 4 | 5 | 25 |
| 30 | 30 | 108 | 4 | 6 | 30 |
A box is 27 sheets (14.4 oz Honey Maid, three sleeves of about nine). Spare sheets are my suggestion.
Where the numbers come from
simplykinder.com lists per child: 1 milk carton, 4 graham cracker squares for the walls and 2 rectangles for the roof, 1 paper plate and 1 popsicle stick. For a class of 25 it says 2 1/2 boxes of graham crackers (approximate) and 5 cans of frosting, or at least 1 can per table. The frosting line on this page follows that: 1 can for every 5 children.
The cracker line is my own arithmetic. A sheet is 5 × 2.5 in, so a 2.5 in wall square is half a sheet, and a box holds about 27 sheets (Nabisco, three sleeves). A quarter sheet would be only about 1.25 in wide, too narrow for a carton side. For the roof, a half sheet (2.5 × 2.5 in) covers a slope of roughly 2.75 × 2 in, while a whole sheet would overhang by 3 in. So a child uses 4 wall halves and 2 roof halves, 6 pieces or 3 sheets. Add 20% for breakage and 25 children need 90 sheets, which is 4 boxes.
That differs from simplykinder.com's "2 1/2 boxes" for 25 children. Without spares my count is 75 sheets, about 2.8 boxes. The post does not give a box size, so I cannot say why it comes out lower. Sheet sizes differ by brand, so count what your box holds.
Does a half-pint carton fit the crackers?
Sources disagree on the exact size of a half-pint carton, because it depends on the dairy. Search results for the base put it between 2.25 and 2.9 in square and the height between 3.5 and 4.1 in. A wall square is about 2.5 in wide, so a carton side is close to one square wide. Measure one of yours before the day.
| Carton base | Against a 2.5 in cracker | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| 2.25 in | -0.25 in | Cracker overhangs the corner |
| 2.50 in | 0.00 in | Cracker covers the side |
| 2.80 in | +0.30 in | Gap beside each cracker |
| 2.90 in | +0.40 in | Gap beside each cracker |
A gap is no problem, since frosting fills it. A cracker that is wider than the side hangs over the corner and meets its neighbor there. The two roof pieces lean against each other over the gable of the carton, and frosting holds them at the ridge. If your cartons run narrow, snap a few crackers a little shorter for the walls.
Prep timeline for the teacher
- A week or more ahead. Send the note home asking for one clean, dry half-pint carton per child (a few extra for spills), due the day before. simplykinder.com sends the letter about a week ahead.
- Two to three days ahead. Buy the crackers, frosting, plates and sticks from the table above. Ask for candy donations, or buy it, and pick out anything with a nut label.
- The day before. Rinse the cartons and let them dry overnight. simplykinder.com then staples each carton shut, which it found faster than hot glue. Unwrap the candy and peel the frosting lids.
- The morning of. Cover tables with butcher paper, set one frosting can per table and put wet paper towels at each seat. Portion crackers onto a plate per table, with a few spare, and candy into bowls.
- During class. Frosting glues the carton to the plate, then the sides, then the walls go on. Roof last, after the walls are secure. Walls get pressed firmly with the fingers, so leave the roof off until then.
Related pages
Without cartons, graham crackers stand up on their own, and the graham cracker house page shows the layouts and how many sheets each takes. For a party with dough houses or mixed groups, the party supplies list covers batches, icing and candy. The royal icing guide has recipes if you would rather make your own icing than open cans. More guides are on the template generator page. A class that would rather swap baked cookies can use the classroom cookie exchange guide.