When the holidays roll around, there’s one sweet treat we look forward to above all others: gingerbread. We bake gingerbread cakes, decorate gingerbread cookies and even sip on mugs full of gingerbread hot cocoa. And, while we’ll certainly pick up a gingerbread decorating kit for the kiddos, not a Christmas goes by that we don’t build our own gingerbread house from the ground up. There’s something so joyful about decking our house with all sorts of festive details like candy penguins, confectioners’ sugar snow and peppermint stick trim. We think you’ll have fun doing the same, which is why we’ve rounded up everything you need to get started—from our go-to gingerbread dough recipe to fully decorated houses that you can look through for inspiration. There are so many wonderful ways to dress up your gingerbread house but there’s no denying that this pepperminty, snow-dusted masterpiece is full of holiday cheer. If this is your first time making a house from scratch, our peppermint gingerbread house tutorial will walk you through the process step by step. If you’ve got a few gingerbread houses under your belt, you can skip ahead to the recipe.

Brighten up your holiday table with this showstopping centerpiece dessert. The dough for the gingerbread house is both sturdy and delicious, and the recipe makes enough for the house and additional gingerbread people for decorating. The candy windows create a stunning stained-glass effect and add a pop of color, especially when lit from within by a flameless LED tealight or LED fairy lights (turn off the lights when not in use).

If you’ve ever tried building a gingerbread house from scratch and struggled with the assembly, you’ll love this alternative idea. Instead of gluing panels of gingerbread cookies together with royal icing, we cover a frosted cake with graham crackers. It provides the same great blank canvas for decorating, without all the standing around and waiting for royal icing to dry.

From the chocolate kiss trim to the nonpareil windows, this house is a cocoa-lover's dream. And it's totally doable with the help of our step-by-step guide. If you can’t find chocolate curls for the roof, you can make your own with this easy, 2-ingredient recipe.