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Entries in the 2024 Holiday Gingerbread-Smackdown contest

My 'Secret House' is entirely made of gingerbread. I wanted the house to look warm and cozy.

Candy and color inspired this house. There's plenty of candy for the eye and also plenty of candy for the little ones to pick off. We each took a different piece to decorate, hence the lack of uniformity but we had so much fun putting it together that it delighted us anyway.

Inspired by the rhyme about a crooked man who lived in a crooked house except this man had a crooked penguin instead of a crooked mouse! We called this our "crazy house" and filled it with every kind of candy we could find. We tried to make a Crazy Quilt paint job!

Everything needed for a holiday meet-cute; hot chocolate for spilling on a handsome stranger, ice rink for an excuse to hold hands, and a gazebo for kissing under the mistletoe. Complete with peppermint pretzel benches and a candy cane sleigh.

100% edible except the lights. All gingerbread, royal icing and fondant. Except for the “rocks,” which are rice krispy treats without the butter. Then covered in colored chocolate and shaved down. Thomas Point Lighthouse is in the Chesapeake Bay, near Annapolis, MD.

My daughter and I designed this seasonal landscape with the Alpine pattern from GBD. The house's feature fondant "wood" shingles, sprinkled rooves, and see through sugar windows with elves, gifts and Christmas tress to peek at. See the gingerbread men skiing down the tree lined, lit-up slope and Santa warming up by the outdoor fire pit. Also with a candy cane wall, rock features and a waterfall. The mountain was created with rice crispy treats, and tons of royal icing. We hope you enjoy it!

Inspired by the poem, this Victorian house tells the story of Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve. All the furniture, the sleigh and even the reindeer are made of gingerbread.

This template reminds me of some of the old Vermont farmhouse still standing around my area. I used clear melted hard candies for the window and corn candies for the window candles, which look even better when lit from behind by the interior lights. The roof shingles are Wheat Thins crackers, and the trees are covered ice cream cones.

Inspired from the architecture and cuckoo clocks of Black Forest Germany, this is a "rebirth" of a clock I did 10 years ago. I wanted to re-create it as my skills have improved. It is my tallest creation, measuring just over 18". Everything is edible. Made with 2 colors of gingerbread, fondant shingles, trim and cuckoo, edible moss greenery, isomalt windows and squid ink pasta for the window mullions. The time on the clock,11:03, is the day that I was reborn, baptized in Christ this year.

My inspiration was an imaginary castle in winter. Mine has 15 buildings on a 20 x 22 inch board. There are balconies made with gum paste lace painted gold with luster dust. There are round towers topped with blue fondant roofs, snow, and candy pearls. The walls are trimmed with gingerbread men, stockings, and trees painted gold and everything thing is trimmed with garland with berries.

My display is titled “Happy PAWlidays” and was inspired by my granddaughters’ Paw Patrol Lookout Tower play-se. Ryder, (our traditional) Bear and the pups are on a mission to deliver presents to all the shelter animals. The tower is 22” tall, 14” wide and made from dyed gingerbread, while the slide, and most of the trim, was molded using ginger clay. The windows, and the elevator shaft, are made with clear icing sheets, and the figures and vehicles are rice cereal treats covered with ginger clay.

Our local contest had a book Category so that was my inspiration. My Bible is made of gingerbread, side pieces are covered with royal icing and pounced with edible gold luster dust. The people and animals are 3-D cookies covered with fondant. The text is hand written with food gel on rice paper using a light box and coated with PME spray. The base is rice cereal treats covered in crushed gingerbread and parsley palm trees are rice paper.

This teeny tiny house is inspired by the concept of hygge; the coziness, peace and warmth of winter.

3 feet tall gingerbread Swiss chalet. Multiple gingerbread decorations- skis, sled, logs, axes, tree, and benches. Candles are fondant and garland and wreaths are royal icing.

This family is enjoying a nice snowy day outside their home, playing fetch with their furry friend! Gingerbread made from scratch!

Filled to the trim with sugary and natural goodness, <8 Tutti Frutti ‘24 highlights a personal fav joy-sparking theme of fruits and their bright and cherry <8 colors, with a nod to the merriest, Mary Engelbreit

Clock is gingerbread; poinsettia, holly leaves, berries, and mice are fondant. Inside - background fondant and royal icing. Table is gingerbread. teapot, cups and plate of cookies all fondant. Made with edible gingerbread. Candle and lights only thing not edible.

I decided to do a game this year and Candyland popped into my mind. It was a favorite of my grandchildren. It encompasses my love of color and fantasy. I used lots of candy, construction grade gingerbread, gum paste and fondant. I hope you enjoy my entry and consider it for your vote. 😊

Aloha! I lived with my husband in Hawaii for 19 years on 3 islands, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, also known as the Big Island. We embraced the culture, lifestyle and the people that make up the aloha spirit. Our gingerbread hale includes palm trees swaying with our hula ohana enjoying a shave ice stand, pineapple’s, surfing and a trip to the royal Iolani Palace and of course a rainbow chimney. Mele Kalikimaka!

We designed our houses for warmth and comfort of the holiday season living at the end of a cul-de-sac all the neighbors kids would come to play and have a fire and just be kids. This reminded us of that time.

Growing up in Minnesota we always drove over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house on Christmas Day. Grandma lived on a beautiful lake surrounded by woods and cabins and lots of snow and ice. The house is edible except the lights inside and the wood board beneath. I used isomalt and gingerbread for the structure and royal icing, gum paste and fondant for the decorations. The snow is crushed rock sugar and glitter sprinkles.

Mostly gingerbread and icing. Simple with trees of ice cream cones covered in icing and coconut. Pews and pulpit, small pond of isomalt and gumpaste penguins. Church with pews and Pulpit, Penguin's playing around a pond. Inside of the church lights up.

Train of gingerbread. Wrapped candy that can be eaten and replaced. Penguins playing by the pond with deer through the woods. 37 in long and 19 in wide.

The theme was Candyland. The dragon is gingerbread with gingerbread clay over the main baked gingerbread form to sculpt the features and details. Wings are made from gelatin. The mountain is also baked gingerbread ring with gingerbread clay placed over it to sculpt the rock "candy" details and airbrushed. House is all baked gingerbread and royal icing. The rocks are gingerbread. The fairies are gum paste with gelatin wings. Isomalt was used for candy and other details.

Gingerbread structure. Characters are gum paste and gingerbread. Licorice strips shingles and royal icing. Moose is modelling chocolate (never again lol). Interior is completely finished. We always get carried away with interior. All edible with exception of lights and base. We made and donated this for Saskatoon festival of trees.

This Lighthouse was constructed with a hand created template, homemade gingerbread and royal icing with creativity. It is inspired by both mine and my Grandma's love for Lighthouses.
Includes candy waves and candy glass windows.

This is my first time entering a gingerbread house contest. This is the fourth annual gingerbread house that I have made for my grandchildren. The first three were for them, Frozen ,Minnie Mouse and a Fairy tree house. This year I wanted to do something reflecting one of my favorite hobbies, which is gardening. The grandkids call me, Mooma, so I titled this Mooma's plant shop. I used gingerbread, royal icing, rice krispie treats, fondant, ice cream cones, gelatin sheets and candy pearls.

The clock tower and home always reminds me of a quaint, small town in New England. My family and I used a wide assortment of candies and this is completely edible. We donated it to a children's hospital where it is on display for all to see.

We knew that this house would be given to children of a family we sponsored this holiday season, so we used lots of candy that they could "snack" on when no one was looking! We hoped they would know that we cared and wished for them peace and love during the coming year.

This is the Moxon/Lapp 2024 Gingerbread house inspired by a new puppy, current and past family dogs. Design, template and construction are all customized yearly. Curved roof pieces are quite the challenge. The kids decorate and take it to school to share. Always a huge hit. 20+ years of tradition.

I wanted a candy intensive little cottage that my grandkids can eat. Inadvertently left a can of beans inside!

This is my gingerbread creation with a Mario Kart theme. One of my sons got to chose the main character and he chose Luigi. The base of the main character Kart is a gingerbread cookie, constructed with royal icing and covered with homemade modeling chocolate. The tires are made from ginger cake. The Luigi head, body and arms were made with crispy rice treat and covered in home made modeling chocolate. The small ones are made with gingerbread cookie, crispy rice, modeling chocolate, and mini Reese cups.

I really wanted to make a gingerbread house with a curved roof so my husband (who is the gingerbread architect) created a template. We thought it would be more fun if we stacked different sizes on top of each other so we ended up with three stories! We used traditional gingerbread dough and lots of royal icing colored in bright colors. We added fondant characters, candies in a variety of shapes, colors, & sizes and a colorful ice cream cone tree!

This piece was inspired by a gingerbread market I made on Food Network. It was inspired by the French bakery La Duree. I just love the colors and motifs they use on their packaging so I used pink, light green and gold to mimic their color scheme. The house is mostly decorated in royal icing with some fondant accents (nutcracker, ornament, bow and plaque), candy and sprinkles

When Santa is heading home after a long night delivering gifts, he looks for the light of the North Pole Lighthouse to guide his sleigh home

Holden is a 7 year old 4H student! 4H focuses on the student doing as much as possible on their own. Holden baked, assembled and decorated this house. He added smiles all around his gingerbread house to spread cheer.

I enter a GB contest at a local historical society, and at last years award ceremony they announced there would be no theme for this year. My grandson, who knows my love of the Wizard of Oz, suggested it for my theme. All structures, and characters are gingerbread decorated with royal icing. The flowers are made from fondant. The twister has a PVC pipe for structure, and is covered with ginger clay, and many layers of RI, and RI transfers. Printed pics are edible icing sheets.

This is a super fun tree house on top of a giant gingerbread candy cane. After baking, the candy cane was decorated with fondant stripes. The gingerbread tree house was decorated with colored royal icing and candies. Isomalt was used for the windows. And of course, lots of candy canes were included in the decor. Hence the name “Candy Cane Lane”!

With this creation I used fondant, assorted candy pieces, poured sugar, cracked frozen chocolate, shredded wheat and shredded coconut, chocolate rocks and boulders, ice cream cone to pipe the trees, Hershey's kisses for the base of the bushes and so so much more.

This is Christmas on a beach, I used clear icing for the water, cooked ginger bread and cut out shapes, I used sweetish fish, and a mint for ball, sugar cookies blended for the sand, fondant for the shells, flip flops, presents, bucket and sandcastle, and for the leaves on palm tree and tiki hut. Used coffee stick for the palm tree and for tiki hut, icing to paint, and used sprinkle and edible candy flower for all decor. Sign says merry Christmas, used rice crispy treats for tree/wreaths

The Christmas Tree Farm is 100% edible other than the light feature. Designs are made with fondant and gingerbread. I used rock candy for the walk way. I also purchased sugar stockings (around the edge). Gelatin sheets for the windows.

This church is is where my customers were married a number of years ago and holds special memories for the customer. The project is full edible. All stonework was done in royal frosting and hand painted with edible paint. Windows were made with a pepper mint candy and for the roof I used Necco waters and course sugar. All trees are gingerbread and branches are royal frosting.

This piece was designed specifically around the impacts of hurricane Helene on the Asheville area. It’s part of the Gingerbread Trail of Giving sponsored by the Omni Grove Park Inn. The large rainbow is constructed of Gingerbread filled with rice crispy treats and painted. The helicopter is laser cut from very thin gingerbread and put together with Tylose glue. The lineman is on a pasta stick filled with isomalt and the electrical lines are flexible Royal icing.

This house is floating Up! Into the clouds to visit all of the places we’ve ever dreamed of carried by balloon’s! This house is made complete from scratch with the most amazing spiced gingerbread, held to together by the most amazing vanilla icing. At over 2 feet tall this house contains 45 cups of flour, 12 cups of brown sugar, 25 eggs, 10 cups of molasses, a whopping 72 cups of powdered sugar and 1 set of interior twinkling lights behind the most amazingly tasteful blue jolly rancher windows.

“Merry Christmas” in different languages from around the world. Globe, sleigh, trees and reindeer are made of gingerbread. Santa is fondant.

There's an epic holiday party at the Trivilian House today! The gazebo is filled with friends and isomalt nutcracker statues. The porch poinsettias are royal icing with rolo candy "pots".) In the back of the house is the poinsettia greenhouse where you can peek through the isomalt windows for this year's crop. You'll also find Petey the penguins ice Cherub isomalt "ice sculpture". House shingles are cinnamon toast crunch & the chimneys are nerds candy. Happy Holidays everyone!

Inspired by classic gingerbread designs. I love Victorian houses and scroll work so I designed this to incorporate it all. There are trees in the houses and snow on the ground. I used regular and construction gingerbread, royal icing, fondant, edible lace, Ramen, rice crispy treats, parsley, rosemary and thyme. The only items that are inedible are the lights.