Miss V's class entry into the Gingerbread House Contest

I have to say how proud I am of Miss V's class and all the hard work that they put into making the Tropical Themed Gingerbread House.

We were given the pre made pieces for the house.  The rules stated that it could not be edible and it was suggested that we use a hot glue gun for stability.  The rules also stated that it must fit into a space that was  12 inches deep, by 11 inches wide and 12 inches high.

Here are some of my favorite parts of the house.

A few of the boys rolled out blue fondant for the Gulf of Mexico and then we glued on milk chocolate rocks along the waters edge.  One student worked hard at making tootsie roll sharks teeth.  The city where Miss V's school is located is famous for sharks teeth.  Some of the girls had a fun time making colorful shells from fondant and gum paste.

We made palm trees out of skewers and tootsie rolls.  They were poked and glued into the cardboard base that was the exact dimensions from the rules.  The palm fronds were gum paste tinted green and cut out with a flower cookie cutter and dried over night.  Some of the girls also gave the Teddy Bears bathing suits and made towels and floats from fondant.

Here you can see that one girl made a cute flamingo from pink gum paste.  A couple of other girls made presents to go at the bottom of one tree.  Some of the boys make little strands of colorful lights from fondant and put them onto fishing line.

I love the texture on the palm trees.  Oh and notice the the little bows on the presents?

One side view of our Tropical Gingerbread House.   The roof is plain shredded wheat.  We didn't use the frosted because it would have looked like snow and we certainly do not get snow down here in SW Florida.  The beach sand is actually a box of graham cracker crumbs.  It was funny all day long a little boy from 3rd grade would walk by and say he hoped that we would win.

Here is our completed house!  The class was so excited and we all thought it looked fantastic. 

While putting it together, I made sure to measure with a ruler how high the palm trees were.  I did not want to go over the 12 inch high limit.

You could also purchase the houses. One of our friends texted me while we were heading to the mall to tell me that someone bought ours.  We met the new owner and she was so nice.

We did not win in our age group and (I probably sound like a sore loser), but Miss V noticed that some of the winners did not stick to the size guidelines and were a lot bigger than the specs.  Maybe I have watched to many Food Network specials and have seen pieces disqualified for their sizes.  Anway that did not seem very fair.  Then we found out that for people's choice you could vote on your favorite.  What was not stated in the paper work was that it was $1.00 a vote. 

The following Monday the little boy from 3rd grade asked if we had won and I told him that we didn't and he said that he thought ours was the best!

We may not have won or placed 2nd or 3rd, but I am very proud of our class and will have reward them with an ice cream party or something.

Gingerbread House Contest....

My daughter's class has been entered into a Gingerbread House contest!!! 


Thanks for registering for the 2011 Gingerbread Contest! We will have at least 125 entries in the contest this year!!!


Here are the most important details to know right now–


Houses will be available for pick up on Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22 between 3 – 6 pm. Please call if you will not be able to pick up during these times.


· You will have a kit that includes pre-baked gingerbread pieces, icing, and candy decorations.
· The House should not be edible – we suggest using a glue gun to help with stability.
· Space constraints: the house must remain within a space of 12” wide and 11” deep and 12” tall.  (I feel like I will be on a Food Network Challenge and will have my trusty measuring tape out!)


Houses will need to be delivered to the Gingerbread Village at the Westfield Sarasota Square Mall – Macy’s wing on Wednesday, December 7 between 3- 7 pm.

The Third Annual CYD Gingerbread Festival is a sugar-coated treat for children of all ages. Do not miss the home tour of the glittering Gingerbread Village of 125+ homes decorated by local youth groups, businesses and organizations. See the impressive iconic Sarasota landmarks recreated in gingerbread by talented professional chefs. It is coming soon to the Macy’s wing of the Westfield Sarasota Square Mall. Mark your calendar for December 9, 10 and 11 and plan to visit during mall hours – Friday and Saturday, 10 AM – 9 PM. Sunday, 11 am – 7 pm.


No cookie- cutter homes in the CYD Gingerbread Festival Village! Visitors will see a winter wonderland of lavishly decorated gingerbread houses. Grand confectionary structures designed by sponsoring businesses and organizations sit alongside more than 125 candy-coated cottages decorated by local school children. Area elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and youth groups are represented in the Village. $1 donation per person at the door.


Visit gingerbread2011.com after December 8, see all of the houses and vote for your favorite!


Don’t miss the “Iron Chef”-style competitions on Friday and Saturday evening at 7 pm. Last year’s winning chef Lyndsy McDonald of Pastries by Design will return to face a new challenger and race the clock in the Gingerbread House Decorating contest on Friday, December 10. Student chefs from Venice HS, Southeast HS, and Manatee Technical Institute will have their own competition to create a Gingerbread masterpiece on Saturday, December 11.


Proud sponsors include Westfield Sarasota Square Mall, Ringling College of Art & Design, Hyatt Regency Sarasota, Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mattison’s, Michael Saunders & Company, Kohl’s - Central Sarasota Parkway, People at Play, Whole Foods, and SRQ Magazine.

I am so excited to help the class build their gingerbread house, which will certainly NOT be your typical gingerbread house!