However, we thought there wasn't quite enough icing to really go to town on the decoration. We'd recommend keeping the pre-made icing for another baking day and making a big batch of your own to ensure you don't run out.

As soon as the icing hits the gingerbread it'll start to dry and set, so you'll get into trouble if you change your mind about your decoration halfway through. 2) Look up designs if you need inspiration The gingerbread houses we found easiest to build were those that came with a base piece included. These often have holes baked into them, which the wall pieces of your house should slot into neatly. We liked the flavour when we tasted it, but we found the texture dense and chewy. If experience and appearance is more important to you than eating the gingerbread, we think this is the best kit you can buy. But if you want your house to be a real centrepiece, you'll want to give yourself some thinking time beforehand to work out what you'd like to do with the included decorations and which patterns you'd like to pipe with your icing.Our verdict:We had a bit of a disaster building this gingerbread campervan, and were disappointed with the kit overall. It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the taste of mouth-watering chocolate to sweeten the season. Looking for the perfect chocolate Christmas gift for your favourite niece? Fussy colleague? Sweet-toothed mum? No matter who you’re shopping for this year, our festive gifts are guaranteed to hit the spot. Consider buying a gingerbread house kit with a base if you want a speedier, stress-free building experience. Four expert tips to help you build your gingerbread house 1) Plan what you want to do before you start

Gingerbread house building is an exciting activity, and it can be all too tempting to rip open the box and get to building straight away. It saves you a task if your gingerbread house kit comes with icing included, but you'll need to decide if the amount that's included is enough for what you plan to do. Unwrap delicious chocolate Christmas hampers bursting with all their favourite Cadbury goodies, from the addictive taste of Crunchie to silky smooth Dairy Milk, decadent Bournville and sweet Cadbury Fudge. Explore chocolate hampers paired with top tipples and select from wine, prosecco and beer options to suit every palette — the perfect Christmas prezzie, if you ask us. As we found with John Lewis' pre-made icing, the icing in this kit was runny and didn't hold the pieces together very securely. Our verdict:Ideal if you're not keen on gingerbread, but it's messy to build and will likely end up covered in fingerprints.

HOW THEY WORK

Our verdict:It certainly looks impressive on the box, but we struggled to create anything half as nice.

Looking past our amateur decorating job we were still disappointed with how this house looks. The icing pen colours and sweets looked different to how they appeared on the box - especially the orange icing - and the gingerbread in the box was much darker. Contains:Gingerbread house pieces, icing sugar, fairytale folk biscuits, fruit gums, chocolate buttons, hundreds & thousands, piping bag. Decorating the front can be a little more intricate with edible figures, icing snow, a gingerbread tree and sprinkles to contend with, so if a child is building this house they may need a hand with that bit. If you run out halfway through, you'll need to make fresh icing that will likely be a slightly different shade to the icing that came with the kit. This can really ruin the appearance of your gingerbread house. MELT the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at 50% POWER. Begin with 20 second bursts then reduce to shorter bursts as the chocolate melts, stirring well periodically. Only heat until 75% of the chocolate has melted.

Fry's Collection Chocolate Selection Box 249g

The decoration didn't disappoint, either. We found it fun and easy with plenty of fun grooves baked into the walls and roof of the house to help guide you. Cadbury has released tasty holiday products before, so we’re excited to try our hand at putting together and eating a chocolate gingerbread house. Plus, the Queen of England loves Cadbury bars. I’m ready to start decorating! Where do I buy a kit? Once the house was up we were pleased with its appearance, and we really had to fight the urge to chomp on the chimney, which is a Flake. Our verdict: We think this delightful gingerbread house kit is sure to putyou in a funChristmassy mood.It was by some way our favourite overall, especially in terms of appearance.