Matthew Hauser '23 | Looking to De-stress? Have a Gingerbread Contest!

 

Pictures from a gingerbread creation contest, title “A Christmas Truce, 1914”

2020 has been too stressful for most of us. We have had more events happen this year than we normally see in five, and life as we know it has been totally altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, at the same time, there is a banality to the end of the world as we know it, and we sure do not feel fine isolated from normal life. Creative outlets can offer a way out, a productive means of releasing some stress. As the 2020 holiday season starts to approach us, I suggest a tradition from my high school german department. 

The gingerbread contest can be done individually, in small groups, or however you would like to accommodate the complexities of the current pandemic we are in. The basic premise is that you and your fellow competitors split into groups. This can be done individually too, and it can have a set amount of time to make your gingerbread creation, usually based on a common theme. It is quite a bit of fun, and an easy excuse to eat a lot of frosting and candy. 

My group competed every year throughout high school, with some successes and some failures. The pictured “Christmas Truce” production did well in our senior year contest. It is meant to depict December 25th, 1914, when soldiers on both sides of the trenches decided not to fight for a day, and instead celebrate the holiday together. Our first year, however, not photographed, was a mess. The roof of our house collapsed in just minutes before time ran out and it was too late to resurrect anything close to what we intended. With all the gingerbread success and failures under my belt, here are a few of my tips, if you choose to do a gingerbread contest this year.

#1- Make clear rules about using kits. Plenty of stores sell gingerbread house making kits. These are far more likely to end up like a nice product (and not have their roofs collapse), but you can lose some originality and character. Agree on whether these are allowed beforehand. 

#2- Use candy to paint your picture. Almost every candy can be used in some way to enhance the look of whatever you make. Gummy bears make nice people, peppermints make great decorations- candy canes make nice light posts. In our “Christmas Truce,” we had licorice barbed wire, artillery made from Lifesavers and Red Vines, and Smarties as a soccer field. Be creative! It’s a great use of old Halloween candy as well.

#3- Use boxes to your advantage. If everyone allows it, boxes can really make your structures go together easier. You can use boxes, like those your graham crackers would come in, to be the base of your structures. Then you can use frosting to stick graham crackers to the exterior of the box. This eliminates the problem of fragile structures collapsing, like my group’s first roof. 

#4- Think beyond just building houses. Gingerbread houses can look great, and most of them did better than my various types of productions over the years! However, building a house is not your only option. Ultimately, you are building a scene. My group would always like to recreate events from history or literature. Your imagination is your limit! 

#5- Bring extra supplies. After working with frosting and a whole assortment of candies, the temptation to eat some of it will be great. I cannot promise that more than half the M&Ms and gummy bears we would bring would actually make it into our gingerbread house. The attrition rate to eating your supplies is high. So, make sure to have plenty of extras, so that you have enough to make your house or scene, and leftovers to eat afterward, rewarding your hard work! 

In 2020, we all need a fun thing to look forward to during these stressful times. This holiday season, give the gingerbread contest a try! Worst case scenario, you have plenty of sugar to eat and a funny story to tell.