This year they had a gingerbread house contest, and it was SO fun. I might have to do it every year. We were broken up into 4 teams, and each team had a pretty generic gingerbread house kit, with pre-baked pieces, icing and candies. We had an hour and a half, the kit, and any other supplies we could scrounge up in the kitchen to make our house.
Team 1, the Dream Team, consisted of myself, Josh, Janelle and Alia. We opted for a realistic approach, and the little house turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself. Janelle came up with the wheat-chex shingles, Alia thought up the pretzel shutters and candy Christmas lights, and I prided myself on carefully hung icicles and some cute little wreaths made from cut up gum drops. Josh was an expert m&m sorter - we stole all the greens.
Team 2 was made up of Kristen, Caleb, Jared and Kara. They had a very cute traditional-style house, and even had an "Edward and Bella" gingerbread couple.
Team 3 was Sean, Frank, Tamarra and Linea. They had a very whimsical Dr. Suess-esque house, and were the most creative with their icing techniques. They thined the icing and added lots of coloring, and then painted their gingerbread pieces.
Lastly, Team 4 - Brian, Michaela, Dean and Chris. They had the most creative construction, as well as the most religious symbolism (including, but not limited to, a gingerbread baby Jesus in swaddling clothes, a burning gum drop bush, and swedish fish representing the "fisher of men").The Kemsleys are ultra-competitive, and with bottles of limited edition Pomegranate 7-Up as the prize, the stakes were HIGH. After the vote, the winner was ...
Team 1!!!! Did you doubt me? :) (Janelle ... if you are reading this, I forgot my soda. Can you bring it to the city for me?)Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
