**FOR USE WITH AP LIFESTYLES** **FILE** This Dec. 18, 2004 file photo shows gingerbread houses in the lobby of the Park Plaza Regency Lodge hotel in Omaha, Neb. Unless you have a culinary degree, an incredibly steady hand and a few months to spare, you probably won't be able to recreate those breathtaking gingerbread houses that dazzle from bakeshop windows. But that doesn't mean you should give up on your gingerbread dreams. The trick is that instead of trying to create an architectural wonder, focus on creating lasting memories. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, FILE)

Unless you have a culinary degree, an incredibly steady hand and a few months to spare, you probably won’t be able to recreate those breathtaking gingerbread houses that dazzle from bakeshop windows.

The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be on you way to a merrier Christmas.

But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your gingerbread dreams. The trick is that instead of trying to create an architectural wonder, just have fun

So here’s some tips on making a memorable gingerbread house.

Templates

• Plan, measure and create templates first. Cut the templates out of cardboard, then check that they fit together. Once your dough is rolled, you will use these template and a knife to cut the sections of your house.

• This also is the time to design windows, doors or other features, which must be cut out of the dough before it is baked.

Dough

• Use a gingerbread recipe intended for houses; others don’t produce cookies that are strong enough. Once the dough is mixed, it is refrigerated before it is cut and shaped, then baked. The dough can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month.

• Try rolling the dough onto parchment paper, cutting it on the parchment, then removing the scraps and transferring the dough (still on the paper) to baking sheets and baking.

• If possible, bake the gingerbread the day before your house-making extravaganza. Day-old gingerbread is stronger and easier to work with.

Cement

• Don’t bother with icing from a can. You need royal icing, a meringue and powdered sugar-based icing that dries almost cement hard. Make sure to keep extra icing covered with plastic wrap.

Foundation

Thin cardboard and other weak supports spell catastrophe. If the base bends when you pick up the house, it could shatter the decorations or break the seal between sections.

Build on a solid, moveable surface, such as a large flat platter, a slab of wood covered in foil or a plastic cutting board. Baking and craft supply stores also sell inexpensive cake mounts, which are heavy-duty cardboard wrapped in foil.

Assembling

Soup cans and mugs are excellent helpers; use them to hold walls in place while you ice (cement) them together. To do this, place a mug or can on either side of the wall, holding it upright in place.