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Last Friday, we held our first annual Gingerbread House Competition. Each classroom received a $35 budget to purchase construction materials. Each group took a different approach to building their carb-loaded domiciles.

Group A exemplified the saying “more is more” by building not one, not two, not three structures, but seven mini houses to create a gingerbread village surrounding a grand Christmas tree. The students of Group B took a political stand by using their gingerbread house to launch Frozone's re-election campaign. Frozone won our presidential election in early November and has overseen the golden age of baked-goods-related construction projects.

In Group C, the students raised awareness of the value of agriculture and the plight of animal crackers without homes this winter through their gingerbread barn. They kindly ask you to consider adopting one of these precious barnyard treats this holiday season. Group D embraced a message of community with their photorealistic recreation of one of our community meetings, complete with Marc Columbus parachuting in and Dr. Thomson working on cleaning the chimney. They even made sure all of our fine four-legged friends were represented. Now that’s community! Finally, Group E took a more rustic, impressionistic approach to their gingerbread construction, opting for unique hexagonal and A-frame structures that offer a sweeping survey of modern architecture. Their dissertation on the subject is currently under peer review.

Our guest judge, John Outland, received extensive training in weather-resistant icing methods, load-bearing candy cane fabrication, and North Pole zoning and permitting regulations in preparation for his difficult decision. While each classroom brought their own vision for a marshmallow world, only one group could be bestowed the honor of master gingerbread house architecture firm.

We are pleased to announce that Group D was our inaugural winner. In addition to bragging rights, Talie, Matthew, and their students will be honored in the Gingerbread Hall of Fame, located on the Island of Misfit Toys, and appear in next season’s issues of All Elves, All Ears, the magical toy maker profession’s number one industry magazine.