--- title: 4 Gingerbread Man Crafts for Preschoolers (Easy Ideas) description: 4 gingerbread man crafts for preschoolers, each with a picture and simple steps. Easy ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, paint, and glue. image: https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/crafts/gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers-featured.png --- [![Kindergarten Prep](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/delivery%202.png)](https://kindergarten-prep.com) - [KG-READINESS TEST](https://kindergarten-prep.com/kindergarten-readiness-assessment) - [KINDY](https://kindy.kindergarten-prep.com/) - CURRICULUM - [Preschool & Pre-K Curriculum](https://kindergarten-prep.com/preschool-homeschool-curriculum) - [For 3-Year-Olds](https://kindergarten-prep.com/preschool-curriculum-for-3-year-olds) - [For 4-Year-Olds (Pre-K)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/preschool-curriculum-for-4-year-olds) - [Play-Based & Hands-On](https://kindergarten-prep.com/play-based-preschool-homeschool-curriculum) - [Secular](https://kindergarten-prep.com/secular-preschool-homeschool-curriculum) - [Autism, ADHD & Speech Delay](https://kindergarten-prep.com/homeschool-curriculum-for-autism) - FREE WORKSHEETS - [All worksheets by theme](https://kindergarten-prep.com/preschool-printable-activities) - [Name tracing worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/name-tracing-worksheets) - [Dot marker worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/dot-marker-printables) - [Tracing worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/tracing-worksheets) - [Math worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/preschool-math-worksheets) - [Fine motor worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/fine-motor-activities) - [Cutting worksheets](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/cutting-practice-worksheets) - RESOURCES - [Show and tell: A to Z](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/show-and-tell-ideas) - [Letter activities](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/letter-activities-for-preschoolers) - [About us](https://kindergarten-prep.com/about-us) [Log in](https://app.kindergarten-prep.com/) Preschool Crafts # 4 Gingerbread Man Crafts for Preschoolers (Easy Ideas) 4 gingerbread man crafts for preschoolers, each with a picture and simple steps. Easy ideas for ages 3 to 5 using paper, paint, and glue. [Kindergarten Prep Team](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/author/kindergarten-prep-team) Oct 14, 2026 --- Cinnamon dough ornaments make the house smell like December for a week, which is reason enough. Here are four takes on the gingerbread man craft preschool classes do in story week, with pictures, supplies, and steps, from a decorated paper man to a craft stick puppet. A three-year-old presses on buttons and pom poms and draws a face. A five-year-old draws the icing lines and uses the puppet to tell the story back: run, run as fast as you can. They fit the week you read the book. ## Start here: three gingerbread man crafts that always work [![Decorate a gingerbread man, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C113-2.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C113-2.webp)**Decorate a gingerbread man***Nothing to cut, a three can do it alone*](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers#c113)[![Paper plate gingerbread man, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C114-1.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C114-1.webp)**Paper plate gingerbread man***The classic plate version, two steps*](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers#c114)[![Craft stick gingerbread puppet, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C112-2.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C112-2.webp)**Craft stick gingerbread puppet***Makes the story come alive at bedtime*](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers#c112) All 4 Easy for 3 year olds No paint ## 4 gingerbread man crafts for preschool, with pictures [![Cinnamon dough ornaments, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C173-2.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C173-2.webp)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/crafts/C173-2.webp) ### 1. Cinnamon dough ornaments The child kneads cinnamon and applesauce dough, cuts shapes with cookie cutters and pokes a hanging hole. **You need:** cinnamon and applesauce dough, cookie cutters, straw, red ribbon, rolling pin How to make it 1. Roll the dough out thick. Your child presses the cutters into it. 2. You poke a hole near the top of each shape with the straw. 3. Let the shapes dry hard on a rack, turning them now and then. This takes a few days. 4. Tie a short loop of ribbon through each hole. [![Decorate a gingerbread man, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C113-2.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C113-2.webp)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/crafts/C113-2.webp) ### 2. Decorate a gingerbread man The child dresses a brown paper gingerbread man with buttons, rickrack, pom poms and a drawn face. **You need:** brown construction paper, 2 red buttons, 4 short pieces of white rickrack, 2 small pink pom poms, white crayon, glue How to make it 1. You cut a gingerbread man from brown paper, with a round head, 2 arms and 2 legs. 2. Your child draws 2 eyes and a smile on the head with the white crayon. 3. Glue the 2 pink pom poms on the head as cheeks. 4. Glue the 2 red buttons one above the other on the tummy. 5. Glue a piece of rickrack across the end of each arm and leg. [![Craft stick gingerbread puppet, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C112-2.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C112-2.webp)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/crafts/C112-2.webp) ### 3. Craft stick gingerbread puppet The child decorates a paper gingerbread person with buttons and icing lines and tapes it to a craft stick for retelling the story. **You need:** brown cardstock, 1 jumbo craft stick, 3 buttons, white paint marker, black marker, glue How to make it 1. You cut a gingerbread person from brown cardstock, with a round head, 2 arms and 2 legs. 2. Your child draws 2 eyes and a smile on the head with the black marker. 3. Draw a wavy white line across the end of each arm and leg with the paint marker. 4. Glue 3 buttons in a column down the middle of the body. 5. Glue the craft stick to the back so it sticks out below the legs as a handle. Let the glue set. [![Paper plate gingerbread man, an easy gingerbread man craft for preschoolers ages 3 to 5](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hs-fs/hubfs/crafts/C114-1.webp?width=900&height=675&name=C114-1.webp)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/hubfs/crafts/C114-1.webp) ### 4. Paper plate gingerbread man The child paints a plate brown for the face and adds eyes, cheeks, a smile and white icing squiggles. **You need:** 1 white paper plate, brown poster paint, white poster paint, 2 googly eyes, pink paper, glue How to make it 1. Your child paints the whole plate brown. Let it dry. 2. Paint a wavy white line around the rim as icing and a curved white smile in the lower half. 3. Let it dry, then glue the 2 googly eyes in the upper half. 4. Cut 2 pink circles and glue one at each end of the smile as cheeks. [Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes **Is your child on track for kindergarten?** Answer 30 questions about what your child does today, and you get a report like this one: Every area at a glance: strong, on track, or worth a little time The one or two areas to focus on first Simple things to do at home for each area How many months you have until kindergarten starts Get my child's free report → ![Example kindergarten readiness report with a bar for each area: language, social-emotional, math, thinking, fine motor and literacy](https://kindy.kindergarten-prep.com/report-preview.png)](https://kindergarten-prep.com/kindergarten-readiness-assessment?utm_source=kp-blog&utm_medium=card&utm_campaign=crafts-gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers&utm_content=mid) Nothing matches that filter. Clear it and try again. ## Gingerbread man crafts for 3 year olds One of these a young three can do almost alone: [Decorate a gingerbread man](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers#c113). No exact cutting, no small pieces, and the glue stick does the rest. ## Making gingerbread men with a 3 or 4 year old Put out the decorations in a muffin tin: buttons in one cup, pom poms in another, rickrack snipped short in a third. A three picks and presses, you dab the glue if the bottle is hard to squeeze. The paper plate gingerbread man needs brown paint to dry before the face goes on. Paint in the morning, decorate after lunch, and the white icing squiggles go on last with a cotton swab or a white crayon. Cinnamon dough ornaments are the messiest and the best smelling. Knead on a tray, let the child push the cookie cutters, and poke the hanging hole with a straw before they dry. They hang on the tree or go to grandparents. Tape the puppet to a craft stick and let the child make him run away across the table while you read. Retelling with a puppet is the part a four year old remembers. [Free · 30 questions · about 4 minutes **Before you go: see where your child is for kindergarten** A report with every area at a glance, what to focus on first, and things to do at home. Get my child's free report →](https://kindergarten-prep.com/kindergarten-readiness-assessment?utm_source=kp-blog&utm_medium=card&utm_campaign=crafts-gingerbread-man-crafts-for-preschoolers&utm_content=bottom) ## More crafts for preschoolers - [Christmas crafts for preschoolers](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/christmas-crafts-for-preschoolers) - [Five senses crafts for preschoolers](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/five-senses-crafts-for-preschoolers) - [Letter O crafts for preschoolers](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/letter-o-crafts-for-preschoolers) - [Letter G crafts for preschoolers](https://kindergarten-prep.com/blog/letter-g-crafts-for-preschoolers) - [All crafts for preschoolers, by theme, holiday and letter](https://kindergarten-prep.com/crafts-for-preschoolers) × [**Free:** is your child on track for kindergarten? 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