• Posts on this site contain affiliate links. This means that when you purchase through these links, we get a small commission off of those purchases; in other words, it helps to keep this site running, cover fees, and support our family!

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating Activity Christmas Breakfast

Last year we decorated gingerbread houses. My boys did not love the idea that they couldn’t eat the cookies and I didn’t love the idea of making more with loads of sugar, so we came up with an incredibly fun compromise–Gingerbread Pancakes for decorating. We used these pancakes to make a healthier version of gingerbread houses and this year we made gingerbread man shapes too.

 

These gingerbread pancakes to decorate are a fun Christmas Day breakfast activity. Pancake Party | Christmas Treat | Christmas Food | Snack Ideas | Breakfast Ideas | Breakfast for Kids | Gingerbread | Gingerbread Men | Gingerbread House | Gingerbread Pancakes | Gingerbread House Pancake | Gingerbread Man Pancake | Pancake Bar | Pancake Decorating | Party Activities | Kid Made Food | Breakfast for Kids | Christmas MorningGreat for Pinning Image Pin It Button

 

You can make these pancakes plain or you can spice them up to give them a gingerbread flavor. I kicked in some ground cinnamon, clove, and ginger.

My boys even helped me make the pancakes! It was a great family activity. Gingerbread pancake decorating makes a great Christmas tradition. We had ours for Christmas breakfast last year. This year we have already done it a couple times just for fun.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating Square

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating Activity

 

Gather some awesome pancake toppings to decorate with. We added a few different sweets that often go well with pancakes (chocolate chips, icing, syrup), but I also made sure we had more nutritious toppings (banana, coconut, cereal, peanut butter). They did not use a bunch of the healthier toppings for their pancakes, but they did eat them alongside it. S had tons of coconut and blueberries on his, though.

For easy access, I added all the toppings to a pie tin. If you have a sectioned tin, this would work even better.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 1

 

Here are some topping ideas:

 


 
Once we had all the toppings prepared, we started the pancakes. Now, I’ll admit I am not the best pancake maker. I tend to mess them up pretty badly. In fact, my husband is the designated pancake maker because of this. Since he’s away, I did the best I could and I think they turned out okay!

You will want to make the pancake mix according to the recipe/directions. If you want to flavor them, you can find some great gingerbread pancake recipes online. If you choose my route by eyeballing some spices into the mix, whisk the spices into the pancake mix before adding the liquids.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 2

 

Pour the pancake mix into a condiment squeeze bottle. This will make dispensing very easy–like you are drawing!

To make the gingerbread pancakes into gingerbread house shapes, use the squeeze bottle. Make a very simple house shape by drawing the outside then filling it in with more pancake mix.

To make the gingerbread pancakes into gingerbread men, lightly grease a metal gingerbread man cookie cutter then place it onto the pan/griddle (we have this one and I love it!). Make sure this is metal or it will melt. It will get HOT.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 6 Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 7

 

Use the squeeze bottle to fill the gingerbread man shape in with the gingerbread pancake mix, going around the sides first then filling in the middle. Let it sit a few seconds so the sides of the gingerbread man cook a bit then use the metal tons to pull the cookie cutter off and set it on another part of the griddle. If you let your kids help out, make sure they are very good around hot surfaces and help them know how high to hold the bottle, what parts not to touch, and to try to work quickly because the heat from the griddle rises. My kids did great and I helped them finish it off.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 3

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 4

 

Once the pancakes have cooled a bit, set out the pancakes, spreads (syrup, peanut butter, powdered sugar icing) so the decorations stick, and the fun toppings.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 5

 

My boys had so much fun with this!

 
It is also a great activity for fine motor skills like placing candies in a line or spreading on peanut butter (their choice of sticky spread.). I love how this gingerbread pancakes decorating activity lets their creativity flow and rewards them with a fun treat to eat.

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 8 Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 9 Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 10
 


 
Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 11
Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 12

 

***Secret Word for  Giveaway: MAKEITPRETTY

 

Here’s how our decorated gingerbread pancakes turned out!

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating Theirs Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating Mine

 

Check out our pancakes from last year! My husband really got into it (and he really likes syrup…).

 

Gingerbread Pancakes Decorating 2015

 

Read also: Homemade Cookie Cutter Ravioli for Christmas and Peanut Butter Pretzel Present Pops

Do you have any favorite Christmas morning traditions? Share with me in the comments!

 
Know someone who would love this? Hit the “share” buttons below! Be sure to follow Arts & Crackers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or the others at the top right!

 

Sign up for my newsletter! srcset=

Sign up for my newsletter!


8 Comments

  1. These are so cute and would be so much fun to make. What’s great is they get to eat their creations.

  2. Oh my gosh! My granddaughter is coming to visit next week and we are definitely going to make these. She will love it and so will I. Can’t wait!

  3. I think I would use breakfast items to top the pancakes with, like diced up bacon or sausage.

  4. Looks they had a lot of fun! My kids love helping in the kitchen for sure when we are making something sweet.

  5. Pingback: 15 Cute Christmas Breakfast Recipes For Busy Mornings - British Columbia Mom

  6. Pingback: Unconventional Stocking Stuffer Ideas by Category

  7. Pingback: Ornaments and Trees — Easy Christmas Appetizers for a Party

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.