The Gingerbread House Gets a Valentine's Day Makeover

During the past Christmas season, my boyfriend and I were both terribly sick. I had purchased a gingerbread house kit to prepare for the holiday, but needless to say we didn't feel like putting it together. I contemplated just eating the gingerbread and candy, but then came up with a great idea. I began to wonder why gingerbread was mostly used for just the Christmas season. Why can't that gingerbread house be turned in a Valentine's Day love shack? Thus, the Christmas gingerbread house got a lovely makeover.

Consider Your Design

A Valentine's Day love shack can be as decorative as you like. The key is to scrap the design ideas that came with your gingerbread kit and come up with your own plan based on the shape of the house. For example, you might want to rethink peppermint shingles and use conversation hearts instead. Another idea is to use heart shaped Red Hots to create a path to your Valentine's Day love shack. Trees can also be created by using heart shaped suckers. Just look through the Valentine's Day candy and get creative.

Use What You Have On Hand

Chances are your Christmas gingerbread house kit came with some candy and frosting. You can either use the white icing as is (after all there is still snow on the ground at Valentine's Day) or you can add red food coloring to create a lovely shade of pink for your love shack. Next, go through your candy and pick out the red and white candies. For example, the kit I purchased came with M&Ms and Skittles so there were lots of red candies. This doesn't mean you need to throw away the green candy. This can be used to create shrubs or trees along the outside of the love shack.

Give Your Gingerbread Figures a Makeover

If your kit came with a gingerbread man and woman to decorate, skip the average Christmas attire and go with a tuxedo and dress or boxers and lingerie. The key is to have fun and make everything match the theme of your Valentine's Day love shack.

Turn Your Valentine's Day Love Shack Into a Gift

If you want to give your love shack to someone special this Valentine's Day, go all out and fill the inside of the love shack with their favorite candy before adding the roof. This is a wonderful surprise and is a lot more creative than your typical box of chocolates. Do note that if you plan to use heavy candy, you may want to place a support system inside your house so that it doesn't collapse.