How to Create DIY Cookie Kits Your Customers Will Love
Turn simple undecorated cookies into a giftable, frustration-free experience.
Cookie DIY kits have become one of the easiest ways for cookiers to offer something fun and family friendly. Customers aren’t just looking for cookies, they want an activity that feels special without any of the stress of baking or prep work. When your kits are made with fresh ingredients, sturdy cookie pieces, and packaging that looks polished, you’ve created an experience that stands out far beyond anything store-bought.
That’s where our thoughtfully crafted Gingerbread House and DIY Christmas cookie kits come in. Our packaging with built in instructions make your kits feel complete while saving you the headache of sourcing your cookie cutters and packaging supplies from multiple vendors.
DIY Gingerbread House Kits
Gingerbread houses are a holiday classic, and they’re one of the most effective ways for bakers to offer a high-value, memorable DIY product. When you make your own gingerbread house pieces at about 1/4" thick, you get sturdy walls and roofs that hold their shape and stay upright, something customers immediately notice compared to the $10 big-box kits with brittle, pre-fab panels.
For icing, we recommend you make a white icing for the "glue" that has a toothpaste-like consistency. This helps the walls stick together quickly and the decorations stay on the house without dripping down the sides or causing the house to slide apart.
Even though many customers don’t typically eat gingerbread houses, they still want something that looks cute, assembles easily, and doesn’t crumble the moment they start building. That’s exactly where your DIY kits stand out. The quality of your cookies paired with professional packaging makes your version feel polished and frustration-free, a major improvement over the typical store kits that often collapse or come with icing that won’t stick to anything.
Here’s the recipe I used, it was created by Liz Marek with structure in mind, and it held up beautifully for this project. If the dough feels a little sticky, just add a bit more flour until it reaches the consistency you prefer for rolling and cutting.
To make stocking and selling your gingerbread kits easy, we offer a complete Gingerbread House Kit, everything you need in one bundle. Prefer to customize your kits? You can also find each component individually on our site, from the gable boxes and printed instruction cards, to the cookie cutters, heat-seal bags, and small piping bags for decorating.
DIY Christmas Cookie Kits
Sugar cookie DIY kits are one of the easiest upsells for cookie businesses during the holidays. Customers love the idea of a simple, ready-to-decorate kit, and when you, the baker, are using your own fresh sugar cookies, the quality speaks for itself. We even designed a set of perfectly sized cookie cutters for you to use! These are nothing like the thin, chalky grocery-store kits people are used to. Your cookies have flavor, structure, and real craftsmanship behind them, which makes the DIY kit feel like a premium, giftable experience.
For icing, we suggest choosing three or four festive colors to give your customers plenty of decorating options without giving yourself too much work. Our small piping bags are perfect for including in your kits, they’re easy for beginners to handle and just the right size for our gable boxes.
What truly ties your DIY kits together is the packaging. Our Christmas cookie DIY gable box has decorating instructions printed right on the box, so your customers can start decorating immediately without sorting through extra papers. It keeps your kits looking clean and professional.
To pack everything neatly, we recommend using our 4" × 6" heat-seal bags for cookies and 3" × 4" self-seal bags for sprinkles, candy, or sanding sugars. Everything fits perfectly inside the gable box, giving your customers a smooth, elevated decorating experience from start to finish.
How to Assemble Your DIY Kits
Putting your kit together is super simple, and every step is designed to keep things smooth and stress-free. Once you’ve gathered all your pieces and packaging, just follow the steps below to assemble everything neatly and create an adorable kit your customers won’t be able to wait to open.
- Bake your cookies.
- Heat seal them individually into 4” x 6” or 5” x 7” clear poly bags.
- Make your royal icing, and color it according to the colors you want to include. Generally 3-4 colors.
- Bag the icing using our Small piping bags. Use a food scale to weigh each piping bag so you have consistency and less waste. I put 2.5 oz of icing in each of my bags.
5. Tie each bag using a tape sealer. I run each bag through the tape sealer twice.
6. Put your sprinkles and any extras that will be included with your kit in a portion cup (alternatively you can bag your sprinkles in on of our 3” x 4” clear poly bags).
7. Assemble your boxes. Start by popping open the gable box. Push on the bottom of the box from the outer edges until you hear a faint “clicking” together.
8. Place your bagged cookies on the bottom of the box. Then add the bagged icing on top. Next, place the sprinkles on top of the bagged icing.
9. Close the gable box by putting the two sides together and tucking them into the end panels.
10. The instructions for your customers are printed right on the front of the box! So, your work here is done!
Include a Finishing Touch in Your Kit
To help you add that extra finishing touch to your DIY kits, we created a free editable card template you can customize in Canva. It can be printed front-and-back or you can use just one side, whatever fits your needs best.
One half of the card is designed specifically for a QR code. This makes it incredibly easy to link customers to any decorating videos you’ve recorded. If you want to really elevate your product, consider filming a video of yourself decorating the gingerbread house or one of the cookies from your kit and linking that video right to your QR code. Customers love having a visual guide, and it makes your kit feel even more personal.
Once your video is uploaded, you can generate a QR code in seconds. Simply paste your video URL into a free QR code generator, download the code, and drop it directly into the template.
On the other half of the card, you’ll find a spot for your logo and editable social media fields so you can add your handles, encourage tagging, and make it easy for customers to share their decorated cookies. It’s free advertising for your business, and people love shouting out the bakers behind their favorite holiday treats.
A Sweet and Simple Mini Kit
If you’re not looking to create a full decorating kit, here’s an adorable option your customers will love: pair one of our PYO backers with a small bag of icing and a little packet of sprinkles or candy. It creates a fun, single-serve DIY activity that’s perfect for classrooms, stocking stuffers, or party favors. It’s easy to prep, budget-friendly, and still gives customers that magical “decorate it yourself” experience without the work of a full kit.
Holiday DIY kits are such a fun way for bakers to offer something memorable, personal, and completely unique to their customers, and with the right packaging and tools, they’re incredibly easy to put together. Whether you're building full gingerbread house kits, prepping sugar cookie decorating sets, or creating adorable single-serve DIY treats, all the little details come together to create an experience your customers will truly love.
We hope the templates, tips, and ideas in this blog help you feel inspired and confident as you prep for the holiday rush. With thoughtful packaging and a few creative touches, your DIY kits can feel premium. Have fun with it, make it your own, and don’t forget to share your creations! We love seeing how you bring your holiday kits to life!
