Well, last year there was quite a bit of arguing involved between these 2 little sweeties (can you even believe it?) as they both worked on one gingerbread house, and little brother couldn't even get one gumdrop without a sister pushing him out of the way. So I decided they'd each do their own graham cracker/gingerbread house this year. It worked out much, much better. And they turned out so cute!
I have a few tips for you on making the perfect individual gingerbread house. (go here to see detailed pics)
1) Use melted white almond bark to assemble the house. Forget the royal icing, it takes too long to dry. Melt the bark in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then spoon it into Ziploc bags. Cut a tiny bit off the corner of the bag and let the kids go to town "gluing" the house together. It dries so fast and makes a really sturdy house. You can use it to decorate as well.
2) Use a plastic serrated knife to cut the graham crackers. Like the kind you get with fast food. A good quality serrated knife or steak knife will break the crackers. A regular butter knife *might* work, but you should have an extra package of graham crackers on hand just in case.
3) You need 6 full graham crackers per house. Go look at these pics as to how you cut them to make a house. It is so easy. Why have I never thought of it??