Recently in school we read the story about the Gingerbread Man. It was my children’s first time to hear it and they sat on the edge of their seat wondering what was going to happen. They were actually sad that in the end, the Gingerbread Man didn’t get away but was eaten instead. I quickly reminded them that it was in fact, just a cookie and was baked to be eaten. Then I offered for us to make some later in the week, with one condition, they would eat them! Of course they had no complaints when it would come to eating their own Gingerbread Men.
While we were grabbing a few things from Walmart last week we noticed the Gingerbread houses and that they now have Gingerbread M&Ms. I had never seen them before and found out they were a new flavor that was exclusive to Walmart. I quickly had an idea of a fun craft to do with the kids that we could use the Gingerbread flavored M&Ms for! The kids love to create so this was a perfect way to spend a rainy day, making Gingerbread Men crafts, particularly snack bags!
They were actually really simple. We used brown paper lunch bags for the bodies, sewed the bodies, filled them with M&Ms and then sewed the heads closed. Ok, so there were a few more steps but it was really easy!
To start, I cut an outline of a Gingerbread Man in white paper.
Then I cut the bottom from my brown paper bags at the crease.
I laid the cut out of the Gingerbread Man on the bag and carefully cut around the edges. You could also trace it on and then cut it out. You will have two pieces per bag.
Next, sew the edges of the outline, starting at the shoulder and ending at the shoulder on the other side. (You will add the M&Ms to the opening at the head.)
On the backside of the Gingerbread Man, gently pull the loose string and it will create a loop. Pull the looped thread out and tie both strings together and clip strings.
Now you can decorate your Gingerbread Man! We used glue and simple glitter but you can use ribbon, buttons, candy or whatever else you would like.
Once your decorations are completely dry, gently fill each pouch with your candies. Be careful not to overfill as it will be hard to sew. Leave a slight gap between the stitching as it will make it easier to tear open later.
Now add your button (we used M&Ms) with a dab of hot glue and any other embellishments you wish to add.
Now you have fun crafts that you put your personal touch on to share!
Austin said they all couldn’t be happy because one had to know that he was going to be eaten!
Join the Fun with Instagram and M&Ms
If you need some festive decorating ideas or just some fun crafts be sure to check out these fun Gingerbread M&M’s crafts. If you have some creative ideas of your own, participate in the Gingerbread M&M Instagram contest to win a great prize!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Upload an original image to Instagram with inspirational ideas and creations using Gingerbread M&M’s to decorate and craft during the holidays, caption that image with the hashtag #HolidayMM, and share on Twitter (an “Entry”).
Be sure to print out a coupon for M&Ms before you head out to start your own Gingerbread journey!
Such a cute idea! I pinned this to my Homeroom Mom board.
Thanks Barb! We always have a ton of fun crafting and these were the perfect fit for our Gingerbread Men story in school that week.
What a clever craft! These would be perfect to make for Christmas parties at school! #client
Oh I love these! I would want mine bigger for more snacking!
Love these super cute gingerbread man candy holders. Looks like a craft we can do with our 4H club and fill them with the gingerbread M&Ms. Thanks for the coupon.
This could definitely be an awesome craft my two little girls to do.
These are so cute and so easy to make. I’m sure my boys would get a real kick out of them since they love both original and peanut m & m’s.
You are so creative! I love these!
What a fantastic idea! I am having a party and think this would be a perfect activity to include!
These bag are adorable!! I didn’t know they had gingerbread M&Ms. I need to get some of those!!
I think these bags are so cute! and filled with m favorite candy! I am def making these to add in on my stockings for my daughters
how cute! I like how easy these are to make, maybe I should get the kids to help me out, I have everything to do it !
wow did you hand sew that well? sorry i couldn’t not comment on that. overall,. great craft.
Very cute!!! Perfect stocking stuffers or little gifts! Love them!
wow, these are so cute. I had to pin them.
How very creative! I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like those break apart paper bag gingerbread men 🙂
Although I don’t know if I could rip their heads off to get the goodies inside. LOL
That is one of the cutest ideas I have seen in a long time. I would have never thought of it
What an adorable idea. This would be fun to hand out at school.
These are adorable. Very creative. I didn’t know that Walmart had gingerbread flavored m&ms but I am going to look for them next time I go.
these are too cute! I love it! My daughter and I may have to do this project in the upcoming weeks!
love the picture with the “cracked” head. super cute idea
My son insisted we needed one that was sad, because he knew he would be eaten next! lol! The way kids think, crazy!
Well, isn’t that just too cute? And made with gingerbread M& M’s too. Yum! I can’t wait to try them.
Oh how cute!!!! This is so creative and would be fun to have for niece and nephew!!
That is so cute, I would have never thought to sew a paper bag. Of course I do not sew so now wonder I did not think of it.
Those are too stinking cute!! I want some of those little baggies!
These would be fun for the kids to make, and they’re really cute. I’m looking forward to trying gingerbread M&Ms
Wow! I LOVE this idea, how unique and ridiculously clever. Best holiday idea I’ve seen this year!
These couldn’t have turned out any cuter! I love the step by stop.
That is just such a cute idea! Love it!
If those aren’t the cutest snack bags I’ve ever seen, then I don’t know what is! I don’t know a kid alive who wouldn’t love having one of these!
These are the cutest little things ever! My son would flip for these little gingerbread men bags with festive M&Ms! I should try to make some for his preschool class.
I can’t get over the adorableness of this craft! I’m so making these for my playgroup holiday party.
What an adorable idea! Bet you could use those or a different figure as party favors or even at Halloween!
Those are completely precious! I might make them just for fun, but I love the idea of giving them to kids at the holiday party. 🙂
Such a super cute idea. I want to make these for each child in my daughter’s class. Thanks for such a great idea. I pinned for later.
Those are just about the cutest things ever. I would love to make some and stick them in my boys lunch boxes for them to find one day while they are at school.
No freaking way. This is such a genius idea! I am definitely going to do this for Cohen’s class at school for Christmas! 🙂 Thanks for the amazing idea!