If you have a love for crafty diy projects, during the holiday season, you’ll love this creative twist on the classic gingerbread house. This easy Pottery Barn Doupe was so easy and fun to make!

You really don’t need anything fancy for turning a plain ceramic Christmas village into cute little gingerbread villages.
Old Christmas villages, thrifted ones, or even those you find at the dollar store will all work perfectly. The fun part is mixing and matching different pieces—they’ll all come together once you give them that sweet gingerbread makeover! Get creative, play around with colors and textures, and don’t worry about everything matching perfectly. That’s what makes it feel so cozy and charming.

When Ray and I first met, we painted our first Christmas Village house. Every year, we would paint a new one until we had a village. Once the kids came along, we started making real gingerbread houses, and this tradition has been going strong for 23 years! I love looking back on all of the memories and can’t wait for “the kids” to be back for the holidays!
These cute houses are getting a second makeover. I found them at the thrift store before Halloween and turned them into haunted houses. You can see the haunted houses here.

I found this house in one of our bins that Ray and I started painting 27 years ago and never finished. And here are the thrifted houses painted black.

It’s thrift store decor day, so make sure you check out all of the amazing projects at the end of this post! We also have some new members to welcome!

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Materials you’ll need:

Christmas village houses (check your local thrift store)
Brown Spray Paint (Warm caramel gave it a gingerbread look)
Base of white spray paint (Optional)
White paint pen/chalk pen or white hot glue for icing details
Puffy paint or homemade puff paint
Candy canes, small beads, mini wreaths, or candy decorations for embellishing
Bottle brush trees and lights for decorating your display (optional)

These were all 50% off at Hobby Lobby, perfect for smaller crafts!

Directions

Your first step is to find your houses

Head to your local thrift store or pull out that old set of Christmas houses from years ago. Look for little houses in different sizes to create a varied display. Ceramic houses seem to be the easiest to find.

Paint

For your next step, give each house a base coat of spray paint to cover any previous designs or colors, so you start with a clean slate.
Once dry, use brown spray paint to cover the entire house. You will most likely need 2 coats. You could also use acrylic paint, grab a craft brush, and give it a few coats of paint.

The puffy paint worked great on the windows, doors, and roof edges to mimic icing. As you can see, the glue can get messy, and you will have some cleanup to do. Apply White hot glue to replicate snow piles on roofs, chimneys, and other surfaces, enhancing texture and achieving a wintry appearance. I recommend testing out the glue on something other than your house until you get the hang of it.

Details

For intricate details, a white paint pen or chalk pen works perfectly.
From here, I freehanded the designs and just went with it; that was the fun part!

Add Embelishments

Don’t forget fun touches like mini wreaths, candy canes, gumdrops, and peppermint swirls. I added a dot of regular hot glue and applied my embellishments

Display

I set them up in the kitchen just for fun. I will eventually be moving them so I have the island back for cooking.
They would look super cute arranged on your fireplace mantel, coffee table, or a shelf with bottle brush trees and twinkling lights. The result is a whimsical holiday village that spreads holiday cheer throughout your home.

Options

Whether you want pink gingerbread houses, candy-covered rooftops, or gingerbread village look-alikes inspired by Pottery Barn’s gingerbread houses, there are endless creative gingerbread house ideas to try.

If you have a Cricut Maker, you can even cut out easy, reusable gingerbread house ornaments or delightful gingerbread-themed accessories to display with your diy gingerbread villages.

Creating your own diy gingerbread village isn’t just fun—it’s also a great way to add a personal touch to your Christmas decorations. You can mix and match designs, colors, and details to make your own Christmas village truly unique.

This tiktok – make trend is perfect for gingerbread Christmas lovers who want to add a cozy, festive touch to their home without baking a single cookie.

I added just a few touches of greenery in the kitchen and will most likely put the tree up this weekend since we’re expecting rain!

So gather your supplies, pour a cup of cocoa, and get ready to transform your old Christmas village into a beautiful Christmas display. With a few coats of paint, some candy decorations, and creativity, you’ll have a gingerbread village that’s sure to become a holiday season favorite.