Gingerbread House Party Sign Up Sheet (free, online)

How to set it up

A class gingerbread house day is a supply list more than a party. Each child needs a base to build on, about a sleeve of graham crackers, frosting thick enough to hold a wall, and a cup of candy for the roof. For 24 children that's six boxes of crackers, eight tubs of frosting and a dozen bags of candy, and without counts the class ends up with forty bags of gumdrops and no frosting. So every supply is a row with a number, and when the frosting row is full the next parent takes pretzels.

Teachers and room parents who moved their class sheets to JustSignup told us two things mattered. Parents sign up with a name and an email, no account, so the family who only has two minutes still takes a row. And the page isn't thrown away: the same link held the Thanksgiving feast in November and holds the winter party after this, and on a school account the office can publish the sheet once as a school template so every teacher in the grade starts from the same rows. Send it two weeks ahead; the reminder goes out on its own the day before.

Questions people ask

How much does one class need?

For 24 children: about six boxes of graham crackers, eight tubs of frosting, ten to twelve bags of candy, and one base each. Put the count on each row and let the sheet close a row when it's full. If your class is larger, raise the numbers before you send the link.

What do the houses stand on so they don't fall over?

Many teachers build around a clean half-pint milk carton or a small box, with the crackers frosted to the sides, so the walls hold while the children decorate. If you do that, add a row for whoever is collecting the cartons.

What about food allergies?

Ask the teacher for the class allergy list and the school's rule on outside food before you post. Write the rule at the top of the page and name the rows to match, for example 'nut-free candy only', so nobody has to ask.

Can every class in the grade use the same sheet?

Yes. Copy the page for each class and change the teacher's name and the date. On a school account the office can publish it once as a school template and each teacher makes their own copy, with their own sign-ups.

What does it cost?

The first 14 days are free, every feature, no card. After that, Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year for every page you run. A whole school, with every teacher's pages on one bill and staff added from Google Workspace, is $1,000 a year; see the schools page.

Why not a paper sheet or a Google Form?

A paper sheet lives in one place and fills up with the first people who walk past it. A Google Form takes forty signups for a row that needed two, and you find out in the spreadsheet. An online sign-up sheet closes each row when it's covered, sends a reminder the day before, and gives every person a link to cancel so the spot reopens. See the side-by-side with Google Forms.