An Interactive Neighborhood Holiday Game for Kids (The Gingerbread Man Game)

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays and Happy Hunting!

xoxo, HAN

THIS IS THE GAME OF THE GINGERBREAD MAN!

A couple weeks ago, one of my kids kept wanting to play with a particular friend AT HIS HOUSE because they were “hunting for the gingerbread man.” At first I thought it was an imaginary game 😂 but then I figured out that their neighborhood was hosting a game where they had an inflatable gingerbread girl that people could steal put on their porch. My son and his friend would walk around the surrounding streets “hunting” for the gingerbread man so they could put it back on his friends’ porch. The idea of kids getting together and playing outside in December is something I am ALL ABOUT so it didn’t take much begging (especially because I found a really good priced inflatable gingerbread man!) for me to get on board with bringing the idea to our neighborhood!

With the little bit that I understood from my seven-year-old explaining me the rules (and one very unclear Tiktok someone sent me, haha) we came up with our own version that may-or-may-not be true to the original. We made this little poem, strapped it to him, and then I texted some friends to spread the word. We put him out on our porch and within an hour…HE WAS GONE! It’s been soooo fun seeing my kids get into it along with some other neighborhood kids and I think it might just have to become a yearly tradition from now on!

We tried to keep the area for ours pretty small because there are a lot of kids in my neighborhood between the ages of five and ten, and I wanted it to be a close enough area parents would feel comfortable to let their kids roam without needing adult supervision. (If you don’t think it’s important for kids to be able to do stuff like this on their own please check out this book ;) ) We all know that adults don't need another thing to be thinking and worrying about in the month of December so I did want it to be more of like a middle-aged kid game/activity, and I think for the most part it has stuck to that!

I'm still figuring out what the prize is going to be tomorrow at noon, but I'm hoping to have something there for all the kids who are there camped out trying to get the gingerbread man!

Save this idea to remember for next year! We didn’t start ours until a few days before Christmas and I think that was actually a good fit for us but I know other neighborhoods started it much earlier in the month of December!

It looks like the gingerbread man I got is low in stock so in case it runs out here are a few more options: here, and here, and here. (Ours is about 4 feet and I would say the size is perfect.)

If you want the template for the Canva design (so you can make it your own) you can get that here.