No-Bake Gingerbread Houses for Kids GIVEAWAY!

I first met Lisa Turner Anderson in 1990, right at the end of sixth grade. We had moved into the house right across the street from her and we became fast friends. Fast-forward twenty years and now my dear friend has written a book of her own, and I couldn't be more thrilled for her!

Lisa's first book is No-Bake Gingerbread Houses for Kids. Have any of you ever made a gingerbread house from scratch? I have--years ago. It's a lot of work! You have to make the dough, spread it flat in a pan, use a template to carefully cut out all of the correct pieces, bake it, and let it cool and hope none of the pieces break--and all of that is before you even get to the really fun part, which is the decorating! Lisa's great book features 23 different gingerbread houses that don't require any baking, because they're constructed of graham crackers, cookies, and other things you can buy at the grocery store. You can let the Keebler Elves do all the work for you, while you concentrate on the the fun stuff!

Lisa agreed to do a little interview for us about her new book:

Heidi: What gave you the idea to write this book?
Lisa: I noticed there were no books on the market for gingerbread houses for kids. I also thought there had to be an easier way to make a gingerbread house. I had made the simple graham cracker one before, but I thought there had to be more you could make with graham crackers. So I started experimenting and using other things to build with along with graham crackers. I discovered there's a lot you can do with cookies, ice cream cones, etc.

Heidi: Do you have a favorite house?
Lisa: I have so many favorites! My favorites are probably the windmill with the gumdrop tulips and the tiki hut--those tiki masks were fun to draw. I also love the cabin because it looks so real and so cozy!

Heidi: Where did you buy the candy to decorate your houses?
Lisa: I started out buying a lot of it online, but then I discovered I could find most of it at the local grocery store, Walmart, the dollar store, and the candy store at the mall.

Heidi: Do you have any tips on working with royal icing?
Lisa: I prefer to make royal icing using meringue powder. It contains dried egg whites, so you don't have to work with messy eggs! 

Heidi: Since the book has been published, have you thought of any more houses you'd like to try?
Lisa: I've thought about making some more haunted houses based on movies--like the houses from Amityville and Psycho. I'd also love to do a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house. I figure long, flat graham crackers would be perfect for that!

Ooh, I love the idea of a Frank Lloyd Wright graham cracker house! You can watch Lisa in action, showing how to make the Old Woman in the Shoe house from her book:

I have a signed copy of Lisa's book, No-Bake Gingerbread Houses for Kids to give away to one of you! To enter, please leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite Christmas candy is. This contest will be open until Friday, December 10 at noon MST.