Our verdict:Although it wasn't the most straightforward to build compared to the other gingerbread house kits we tested, we loved how it looked and it was definitely the tastiest. The chocolate house kit is full of sweet and creamy milk chocolate. You’ll receive two Cadbury Dairy Milk Bars, two Cadbury Dairy Winter Wonderland Edition bars, white buttons and flakes. It’s not all chocolate, though. The Christmas Cottage Kit also includes the Dairy Milk Winter Gingerbread Edition bar! Plus, the kit comes with instructions for assembly. Contains: Two Cadbury Dairy Milk Bars, Two Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland Editions, Two Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Gingerbread Editions, Two Cadbury White Buttons Bags, One Cadbury Flake Treatsize. Contains:Gingerbread house pieces, icing sugar, fairytale folk biscuits, fruit gums, chocolate buttons, hundreds & thousands, piping bag. Once the house was up we were pleased with its appearance, and we really had to fight the urge to chomp on the chimney, which is a Flake.

We thought even professional bakers might get fed up with building this gingerbread house, though. You're instructed to hold the house pieces together in place for 15 minutes on several occasions, which we think takes some of the fun out of the activity. There were a few issues with this kit. We found the icing runny and difficult to use when constructing this house. There are plastic clips included for holding the base in place, but the wall pieces still leant inwards and we'd put that down to the weak cement. It looks ornate and doesn't appear simplistic at all, with lovely textures and patterns on the gingerbread pieces and colourful, varied decorations included. As a team of chocolate lovers we thought this kit might steer us away from gingerbread forever, but that wasn't quite the case. This was the only gingerbread house kit we tasted that we thought was truly delicious. It's crispy, full of ginger flavour, and tasted most like a classic gingerbread biscuit of all the kits we tasted.It's worth having a look online at a few gingerbread house design templates if you're struggling for ideas. Our verdict:It certainly looks impressive on the box, but we struggled to create anything half as nice. Looking past our amateur decorating job we were still disappointed with how this house looks. The icing pen colours and sweets looked different to how they appeared on the box - especially the orange icing - and the gingerbread in the box was much darker. Similar to the Biscuiteers gingerbread house kit, the house pieces are blank. You're probably best off planning how you want to decorate the house before starting out. Unwrap delicious chocolate Christmas hampers bursting with all their favourite Cadbury goodies, from the addictive taste of Crunchie to silky smooth Dairy Milk, decadent Bournville and sweet Cadbury Fudge. Explore chocolate hampers paired with top tipples and select from wine, prosecco and beer options to suit every palette — the perfect Christmas prezzie, if you ask us.

You're also instructed to cut one of the pieces yourself with a knife, which is a task that could destroy your house before you've had the chance to build it. Piping icing is great fun with this kit. Along with the piping bag there are a few different nozzles included so you can mix up the shape of the icing as you decorate. If you fill those holes with icing before slotting the wall pieces in, you won't have to hold them in place for long. If you run out halfway through, you'll need to make fresh icing that will likely be a slightly different shade to the icing that came with the kit. This can really ruin the appearance of your gingerbread house.

Move over, gingerbread!

Decorating the front can be a little more intricate with edible figures, icing snow, a gingerbread tree and sprinkles to contend with, so if a child is building this house they may need a hand with that bit. As soon as the icing hits the gingerbread it'll start to dry and set, so you'll get into trouble if you change your mind about your decoration halfway through. 2) Look up designs if you need inspiration

But if your gingerbread is more of a blank slate, it can be a challenge to picture what to do with your icing.The experience of decorating the house was intricate and took us a while, but we found it rewarding and were very pleased with the result. There's a brilliant variety of decorations included that come in all colours, shapes and sizes. The gingerbread houses we found easiest to build were those that came with a base piece included. These often have holes baked into them, which the wall pieces of your house should slot into neatly. Some of the simpler gingerbread house kits aimed at younger audiences tend to have handy templates and grooves pre-baked onto the gingerbread to help guide you as you decorate. With Christmas 2023 fast approaching, it’s time to get excited about what you’ll stash under the tree to surprise friends and family with on the big morning.