Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The gingerbread house throw down

We decided to have a little competition of the gingerbread variety.

This afternoon the competitors warily gathered, talked trash, and  gave each other the stink eye.

Team number one:  Drew and Genevieve




See the intensity in their eyes?

Team number two:  the D and Isabelle.




They actually went to the store and brought their own supply of candy.  AND had a plan worked out ahead of time.

Team number three:  Alec and Brooke.




In it to win it.

Something I should mention about this crew- they are competitive.  Understatement.





The pressure was UNBELIEVABLE, even causing some friction among team members.






Surgical gloves -  really?

The candy was flying.  I kept the icing coming and offered help when needed.  Nellie the dog ate any candy that was dropped to the floor.  She's good like that.

As the afternoon wore on, tensions and mess increased minute by minute.  Team one contested team two's trip to the grocery store to purchase additional candy.  Team three had a bit friction - one a perfectionist and one a bit of a gingerbread slacker.   Team one had a member take off his surgical gloves and throw in the towel when the going got tough.

As a certain level of frustration was reached it was time to bring out the big guns.






Construction adhesive.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Don't judge.






I give you the finished products.  Team number one and the Hannukah house.





With a menorah on the side.





And a star of David on the other side.





Team number two and cabin in the woods.






A most impressive architectural feat.  The roof and side did not even have a gingerbread base.  The sides were completely made of pretzels and royal icing and the roof was made with chocolate.





There were dormers on the side, ice cream cone trees, window boxes, and are you ready for this?





A stone pond filled with blue jello water and goldfish cracker koi.


Team number three crafted a traditional Christmas house straight from the North Pole complete with a spice drop wreath.





Can you see the tiny little strand of Christmas lights above the eves?  Unbelievable patience by Brooke adhering the light bulb sprinkles one by one.






Check out the perfect roof, grass covered snow, and icicles.  Santa would love it.

The teams made windows out of melted sugar and crushed candies.  Here is how they looked all lit up.

Team one and Hannukah house!






Team number two and cabin in the woods!






Team number three and Christmas house!






Mr. Enchanted was the official judge of this gingerbread extravaganza.  When he walked in the door from work, he was in the unfortunate  LUCKY position of declaring a winner.

And this is how he called it:  in third place
HANNUKA HOUSE!


Second place
CHRISTMAS HOUSE!


And that made our winner,
CABIN IN THE WOODS!


Congratulations to the gingerbread genius of the D and Isabelle.  All I can say is WOW!





The jello pond and dormer windows put them over the top.





They were very gracious and humble champions *cough*.



5 comments:

  1. hahaha. yes, they were sooooo humble! i had so much fun though, despite alec's slacker attitude (;

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  2. I agree with with Mr Enchanted! I love that cabin in the woods!! Great job. xo

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  3. I love the fish pond!! So creative. What a fun day.

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  4. WOW!! There is some serious creative juices in this awesome family! So impressed, I agree the fish pond is quite an addition!

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  5. What a contest! My first choice was Cabin in the Woods. In fact, my votes were the same as the Mr's. :-) I can see the competition in their eyes...what fun!

    xo
    Pat

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