Nothing says Christmas like festive decor and food, which is why gingerbread houses are a quintessential (and delicious) part of many family traditions. Whether you like to collaboratively deck out a single house with your kids, family and friends, or are hardcore and engage in a cut throat gingerbread house competition, we’ve got some tips to help you build your next great confection construction.

Perfect pastry planning

Have an idea of what you want your gingerbread house to look like. Will you build one house or a whole village? Having a game plan will let you know how many and what supplies you’ll need.

Back to basics

A good house has a good foundation, so the first step is to get a good base. We recommend a thick cardboard, cutting board or large serving platter, especially if you’re planning on moving the building.

Next — and this part is important — prep the gingerbread! There is many a recipe online that touts the “greatest gingerbread.”

Find your favorite and cut out the shapes you want before baking. Make sure the dough is fully hardened before assembling.

Or, if you’re short on time, buy a premade kit that comes with a handful of baked dough and ready-made decor. However, if you’re going the ready-to-build route, note that you might need to supplement with additional gingerbread or candy pieces if you’re going for an elaborate look.

Ice, ice baby

Icing is a pretty method to construct the house frame and roof, but its thin consistency makes it a tad difficult to work with. To help, add distilled vinegar (just a little bit) to help it harden faster. But you don’t want it hardening too fast in the pastry/piping bag or bowl, so keep it covered with a damp cloth to hold the consistency. Just like the gingerbread, you can buy ready-made icing or go full DIY.

Wall to wall

For the perfect fit, shave or grate the edges of the gingerbread to ensure they’re in the shape you want. A zester is great to achieve smooth lines.

To make things easier, decorate the walls and roof before construction. Your wrists will thank you.

Give me some sugar

While icing is traditionally used to hold gingerbread pieces together, hot melted white sugar is a much better substitute to glue it all together. (Don’t worry, though, you can still save the icing for outer decor.) No matter the ingredient, use clean items you have around the house to prop everything up while it dries.

Festive food furnishings

Now, for the fun part: decorating! The sky’s the limit when it comes to decking out your gingerbread house, and for that you’ll need a ton of accessory candies and other edible arrangements. Use a muffin tin to help keep it all in order and organized, as well as a Lazy Susan if you have one for easy piping, icing and decorating.

Here are some decor suggestions, but check online and ask family/friends for more recommendations:

• Jolly Ranchers: cut out see-through windows from your dough and place a Jolly Rancher in the open space before baking

• Pretzels: go for the rustic log cabin look with these salty snack items

• Muddy buddies: lay these out to make a thatched roof

• Candy canes: these are great to support a porch if you choose to build one

• Fondant/gum: add siding/shingles or cut out small shapes

• Powdered sugar: perfect to create fallen snow

• Waffle cones: cover with dollops of green icing to make trees for the yard

• Marshmallows: build a sweet snowman by stacking these sweet treats