It should come as no surprise to you if you’ve read my previous Wilton Halloween reviews that we take the holiday very seriously in this house. Everything gets the “treatment” – everything from the front yard to the pets get their own special Halloween accents. When I came across these premade houses at Michael’s, I couldn’t pass them up – especially when I saw that they were on sale. In the past we’ve made our own haunted gingerbread houses as well as purchased kits that required a minimal amount of building but this was the first time we ever embarked on one that was prebuilt but needed decorated. Wilton is a name that I completely trust when it comes to baking products and accessories so I knew that even if it didn’t taste all that great, the decorations that come with it would make up for it. I initially tossed one box in the cart and proceeded to move on through the store looking for other holiday bargains and I couldn’t fight the urge to go back and pick up a few more. I mean, come on, they were on sale you know and how could I pass up a sale?

Wilton Monster Mansion Gingerbread House Kit [210-1542]

One of the biggest things to know about this kit is that practically everything you need to create it is included. You will need to supply the basics like paper towels, newspaper to cover the work area, paintbrushes for accents and toothpicks but other than that, you are pretty much set. Assembling the outside of the house is extremely easy and you have a lot of options when it comes to decorating – so this is a great project for kids to get involved with. If you have some sprinkles, royal icing and common food goods there’s no limit to what you can do with the house. Don’t get me wrong, the items that come with the gingerbread house are simply adorable – but why stop there? Add whatever you like to the outside of the house but be careful not to pile too much on to the roof or you might have it cave in on you. We lost one house when we added a thick layer of royal icing to it then proceeded to add small pieces of graham crackers for roof tiles – but in all honesty it wasn’t the icing or the crackers that made it implode – it was the black gumdrops and jelly beans.

When you unpack the house you’ll see a lot of small packets and pouches with the various tasty treats that can be added to the exterior of the gingerbread mansion. But before you start decorating you will want to find a suitable base for your house; once you start adding things to it you won’t want to risk having it fall apart or collapsing when you go to move it. What worked best for us was a large wooden cutting board covered with a few layers of aluminum foil. You do get a cardboard base with the kit but if you are going to add a lot of exterior stuff you will need something bigger. For the surrounding area we crushed up Oreo cookies [with the white centers removed] for dirt and added some Gummi worms as an extra spooky touch. You may want to add some royal icing to the bottom panels of the house and stick it to the surface of your base. This will keep it from sliding around when you are adding things to it and if you need to move it from one spot to another. It also adds to the stability of the house should you choose to combine two houses to make one large scary dwelling. That’s what happened when one of the houses imploded, the boys refused to give up on it and took the panels that could be salvaged and added them to one of the other houses that hadn’t been worked on yet.

The size of the house is more than adequate to feed at least ten people – but more than likely everyone will be picking on it so you can have one for a centerpiece and now have to worry about people still walking around hungry or without an obscene amount of sugar in their bloodstream. When you see the size of the box you might be fooled into thinking that the mansion inside if huge – well, it isn’t small but it certainly isn’t as large as you’d think it to be. It stands almost seven inches high, six inches wide and about four inches in length – but those are the dry dimensions – the actual size all depends on what you add to it, the base it is on and if you are going to combine two houses to create a large one. Some of the items that come with the kit include black and orange frosting / icing [requires a little mixing but is very easy to work with], candy corns, sugar tack decorations, disposable frosting bags and tips and of course the premade house. If you have any Halloween related cake decorating supplies you can easily add them to the house with a little additional royal icing.

Price

You can find these on the shelves around the end of September or when ever stores start to stock Halloween items – something that seems to come earlier each year. The suggested retail price of this gingerbread house ranges from $11.99 to $12.99 however I came across these for $5.00 at Michael’s right before Halloween. I am sure that this significantly reduced price was due to over ordering as well as a flood of other similar products that had a lower price. For five dollars this house was more than worth it but knowing what I know about it now, I doubt I’d pay full price for this. It tastes “good” and assembles easily but it is a little on the small side for the price. It is a great project for kids to get involved with and could easily keep a table full of the wee people busy for over an hour. A great thing to have on hand if you are planning a party where there will be a variety of age groups and you are stuck on ideas for group activities.

The Bottom Line

As a whole this is a great mid sized gingerbread house kit that comes with almost everything you need to make a cute and creepy house. I’d suggest this for kids over the age of four unless parental supervision will be available through the entire building process. There are some small pieces of candy included with the kit that could present a choking hazard. As I mention in almost all of my Wilton product review, this is a company that I completely trust to give me high quality products at a reasonable price. In the case of this haunted gingerbread house I wasn’t disappointed in the least but the size of it could have been a little larger. If you come across these for about $10.00 I’d suggest picking it up but any more than that and you might feel a little slighted when you open it up and see the size. If you do get one with some broken pieces you can easily patch them with some royal icing on the inside of the panels [I suggest using Wilton Meringue Powder for this] or if it is really banged up, take it back to the store for an exchange.


As always, thanks for the visit …

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2004 Freak369


Other Halloween baking and decorating reviews..

∴ Wilton Spooky Cookie Cutter Set ∴ Wilton Dancing Skeleton Baking Cups ∴

∴ Wilton Halloween Mix ∴ Wilton Black Colored Sugars ∴

∴ Wilton Mini Pumpkin Pan ∴ Wilton Singles - Ghost Mini Pan ∴

∴ Wilton Copper Halloween Cutters ∴ Wilton Mini Ghost & Pumpkin Candy Mold ∴

∴ Wilton Jack O Lantern Canister Cookie Cutter Set ∴ Wilton Singles Bat Mini Pan ∴




Recommended: Yes