No molasses, no problem. I've got your problems solved. How about making (not baking) a village of gingerbread houses? It's a very easy task with no previous experience in baking required. All you'll need is a piece of cardboard (I got mine from one of the tops of a Pampers' box), a piece of brown paper or any other paper for covering the back of the box (if it's got any design), spray adhesive (available at Michaels), chalk and Matte Spray (available at Michaels) to preserve the drawing.

1. Basic materials needed for this project: a piece of cardboard, brown packing paper, chalk, spray adhesive and Matte Spray. 2. Cover the design of the box with a piece of brown paper or any other paper you decide. 3. Bend the piece of cardboard to divide the houses. 4. Draw the housetops of the village. 5. Design your perfect village windows and doors!

I'm sharing a similar pattern here for you to download and trace your village. I hand drawn mine over the lid of the box but before that I cover the back of it with the brown packing paper. Bend this piece in an accordion form so you'll have what will be the divisions of the different houses. To cut the the form of the housetops, I used an X-acto because the cut was neater one. Now, for the drawing I took some ideas from various photos in Pinterest. To seal the chalk I use the Matte Spray from Krylon and let it dry. Now we have a village of gingerbread houses, Christmas trees included. Hope you enjoy this quick tutorial.