Are you looking for a gluten-free alternative to the standard gingerbread for your Christmas gingerbread house? Here are three I've had success with.

1 Rice Krispies Squares were one of my top favourites as a kid, so I thought why not try to make a 'gingerbread' house with it. They use rice krispie cake in those professional cake competitions on TV, so here is my attempt.

To start you will need to make a pattern for the house. I use whatever cardboard I have around usually a cereal box and cut out 2 roof pieces, 2 sides and 2 front pieces to the size you like.

Make the rice krispie cake as per the package instructions. Here is a link to the rice krispie recipe I used to make Easter rice krispie treats. As I'm a celiac I used the gluten-free version of the cereal. You can use your favourite type of puffed rice cereal. Do check that your marshmallows are celiac safe.

I lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper that I'd lightly sprayed with cooking oil then I dumped the mixture on to the tray. Put another piece of parchment paper on top and press and roll the mixture flat to about a 1/2 inch (1 centimeter). Then using your pattern cut out the parts of the house. I then removed the leftover bits and let the parts of the house dry for two days. I made trees and snow man shapes with the leftover mixture. You can also roll into balls and decorate them.

After the piece are dry and solid I put them together with royal icing. Let dry for a day. Then decorate with gluten-free cereal and candy and do a final dusting with celiac safe icing sugar. I like using Kinnikinnick Kritter cookies as decorations.

Here is my finished rice krispie product.

2 The next one I tried was using gluten-free graham cracker cookies. It worked out really well. I love easy crafts and you don't need to make your materials with this one.

Just gather your favourite gluten-free graham crackers, royal icing and candies. I used Schar graham crackers and Pamela's graham crackers. They both worked very well. You could also try Kinnikinnick graham crackers too (sorry no photo).

I found that using a serrated knife with a sawing motion works pretty good when shaping the triangular pieces for under the front and back of the roof. Don't worry about the neatness of the shapes or your connecting icing. As you can see mine is not super neat! It will be covered with additional icing and candies.

I love these gluten-free ju-jubes for decorating.

Skittles are gluten-free and the colours are ideal for Christmas decorations.

Have fun looking for and gathering your favourite gluten-free candies and cereals. You can also add small toys to your project. I like to put mine on a tray or plate as it is easier to move around. If you line it with tin foil with the shiny side up you can use a circle area to make a skating rink.

You will need to use your icing to glue your parts together and let sit overnight before decorating. I put a glass in the middle to help support the pieces.

And below is my finished product. These are nice because they are small so each person can have their own to decorate and they don't take up a lot of room.

3 My last alternative 'gingerbread' house uses no food for the structure at all. It uses lego!!! If your child is very young, I do suggest that you pre-make it ahead of time to figure out the best shape and then take the pieces apart and rebuild with your child. This will ease any possible frustration.

It was great fun building this house. We just used the lego we had, but I'm thinking you could go out and buy ones more suited if you like. You are only limited by your imagination. It would be fun to do a 24 hour advent calendar or the 12 days of Christmas with small wrapped gifts surrounding the house. You could wrap them in different shapes, like Christmas trees, snowman, stars etc... Or have a theme like Space or a Castle. Don't forget to number them so you know which ones to open each day. You can also put candy inside the house. This is a great idea for those who have multiple allergies. The candies, fruit, cookies and chocolates can be put in small bowls or scattered about.

The icing I used to hold the house's together (except the Lego one of course) uses no eggs. I couldn't find gluten-free meringue powder this year, so I tried one using light corn syrup instead of egg whites and it worked really well. Follow this link to the recipe if you'd like to give it a go.

What type of Christmas 'Gingerbread" Houses did you make this year? What are your favourite decorations?

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns. Not sponsored. If sponsored I will always say so at the top of the post.