REVIEWS: The Dialogue For Democracy 2024 Gingerbread Competition
The Dialogue for Democracy class split into groups and constructed unique gingerbread houses. Then, we reviewed each house individually.
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What happens when Upper School students are armed with gingerbread, frosting, and an overabundance of holiday spirit? Tasked with creating the most inspired, festive, and impactful gingerbread house, small groups of students in the Dialogue for Democracy class made their edible visions come to life in a heated bake-off.
From pop-culture tributes to grim dystopian visions, each student-made gingerbread house offers a unique glimpse into its creators’ imaginations. But not all houses are built–or glued–equally. Some stand as towering models of an ideal society, while others collapse under the weight of their own ambition (or, in some cases, poorly placed frosting).
Each gingerbread house will be reviewed under the criteria of creativity, originality, thematic coherence, and presentation. After evaluating a combination of these factors, a winner and–of course–a loser is decided. Which house will reign supreme, and which house will crumble into sugary despair?
Home Alone Treehouse by Elise Kim ‘25, Ann Crosby ‘25, Andy Han ‘26, Violet Daly ‘26, & Stella Dombrow ‘25 review:
This architectural marvel aims to depict the infamous treehouse scene from “Home Alone,” where Kevin hides from the Wet Bandits in his treehouse. The choice to reference “Home Alone” is certainly festive, but feels played out and cliche, especially compared to the house’s competitors.
As it is, the house is undeniably an obvious reference to “Home Alone” and clearly replicates the scene it was trying to reference. However, this easily identifiable quality is only possible because of the printed-out faces of “Home Alone” characters–of which the ethics of using in this competition are questionable.
But beyond these printed-out faces and a few small details, like the marshmallow-made fire on Harry’s head, the house is barely connected to “Home Alone,” leaving many questions about the house’s adherence to its theme up in the air.
Between the clearly written title card and the relatively boring crew photo, the house’s presentation is mediocre–though I’ll admit that the “Home Alone” quote on the title card was a nice touch.
Additionally, the gingerbread was store-bought and hot glued, an oversight that dampens the overall impact of their house. As a whole, the Home Alone Treehouse fulfills its duties in terms of holiday spirit and decoration, but leaves much to be desired.
The Purge by Brittney Haldorsen ‘25, Maddie Synder ‘26, Charlie Broad ‘25, & Evan Zhang ‘26 review:
This purge and children’s cartoon-inspired gingerbread disaster masterfully employs all of the colors of the rainbow to depict an indeterminable scene of animalistic violence and destruction like no other. The house’s cynical theme serves as a refreshing and unique approach to the assignment, but falls short in terms of holiday spirit–I guess the broken gingerbread limbs and candy-cane spears don’t really scream holiday cheer.
The house’s explosion of Red Dye 40 frosting and assorted candies makes it difficult to distinguish any sort of useful context about the house, but lends itself well to a distinctive and oddly on-brand messy charm–like a kindergartener’s first diorama.
While the house more than makes up for the purge component of its theme with a variety of barbaric elements, it maintains hardly any remnants of its time in Bikini Bottom. Thematically, the house feels less out of an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and more like a poorly planned gingerbread men paintball game.
The house’s crew photo is admittedly iconic and strangely endearing, a stark contrast to the house itself. The crew’s whiteboard title card is similarly chaotic, but definitely requires more context.
In the end, the disorganized and catastrophic appearance and presentation of the house work surprisingly well in creating an interesting and charming final product.
Catlin Gabel Upper School Campus by Hadley Cress ‘27, Isaiah Dada ‘25, Jordan Devlin ‘25, & Chip Downes-Le Guin ‘25. Review:
This house is a bold attempt at recreating the Catlin Gabel Upper School quad, a uniquely relevant and school-appropriate theme. This theme, however, lacks seasonal festivity, something reflected in the house’s overwhelmingly blue and green color palette. Nevertheless, the house is an undeniably interesting approach to the assignment.
In terms of the house’s ability to accurately depict the dearly-beloved Upper School quad, it falls disappointingly short. The Upper School library and other notable features of the Upper School campus are missing entirely, making the house almost unrecognizable as the quad. Admittedly, the buildings, apart from the Dant House–are surprisingly close to their references in terms of general shape.
The house’s crew photo is cute, but–much like the house itself–a little boring, leaving the house’s presentation feeling a little dreary and lifeless.
Likewise, the house’s title card is boring, nondescript, and even lacks an attribution to the house’s creators. The house certainly harbored potential with such an interesting and ambitious theme, but ultimately lacks the pizzazz required for a competition as competitive as this.
The Rankings
From nostalgic holiday classics to unexpected twists, each group brought something unique to the candy-coated table. While some houses stood out for their thematic ambition or structural integrity, others faltered under the weight of mismatched elements or lackluster execution.
In last place, the Home Alone Treehouse fell short with its overreliance on printed visuals and store-bought shortcuts. Its attempt at harboring the nostalgia of onlookers was spirited, but the house’s lack of originality made the result alas uninspired. A more interesting or original theme might have helped, but as it stands, the Home Alone Treehouse is the weakest entry.
The Catlin Gabel Upper School Campus takes second place for its ambitious attempt to replicate the quad. While it captured the general essence of the quad, its lack of holiday spirit and omission of key Upper School landmarks held it back. Despite its flaws, the effort to tie the house to the school community gave it a competitive edge.
Taking the crown is The Purge, a chaotic masterpiece that fully embraced its dark and unexpected theme–something even I’ll admit that I was skeptical about at first. Its messy charm and bold commitment to carnage made it both memorable and entertaining, even if it didn’t exactly exude holiday cheer.
Ultimately, this competition isn’t about skill–or even piping skills–it’s about the heart, humor, and the ridiculous amount of frosting that was poured into each creation. Whether the houses succeeded or failed in their attempts at showcasing their holiday cheer, they represent our shared creativity, reminding us that even in a ruthless showdown, it’s the shared experience (and the modicum of glory) that matters most.
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‘Twas a late and lazy afternoon, just a week before the long-awaited winter break, when the students of the Dialogue for Democracy classroom split into teams and began construction of their gingerbread houses.
Frosting lined the walls, gumdrops adorned the ceiling, and a winter-themed timer had just ticked down to zeroes when teacher Helena Gougeon announced to the classroom “Put down the candy!” The gingerbread homes were complete.
While the structures had been festooned, the process was far from complete. From here, the houses would be judged based on three factors: creativity and originality, thematic coherence, and presentational tone.
Beach House Review
The first cookie creation on the menu was the oh-so-creative and aptly named “Beach House.” Showcasing an A-frame store-bought abode flanked by an original use of Triscuits to create a thatched roof and residing in front of a brown sugar beach, the aesthetics of the “Beach House” were perhaps the strongest of all participants.
The cohesive color palette including various shades of beige, highlighted with pops of color from cleverly placed paper parasols, a striking aquamarine frosted ocean, and chaise longues constructed of Twizzlers succeeded in creating a visually appealing and uniform tone.
Despite thematically consistent imagery that aided in creating a strong visual impression, originality would be the Achilles heel of the “Beach House.” From the characters to the house itself, an inordinate amount of store-bought goods in the most important parts of the house took away from the creativity expressed in the details creating an eye-catching but soulless model.
Purge 7 ReviewNearly antithetical to the “Beach House” would be “Purge 7: Rock Bottom in Bikini Bottom” (“Purge 7”). Where the “Beach House” lacked passion and story, the gruesome scene depicted by “Purge 7” was terrifying to behold.
Shoddy mismatched walls collapsing in on each other with the absence of any attempt at structural integrity flowed with the sticky sugary blood of gingerbread men fallen in the battle subtly referenced in the subheader, There’s always WAR even at Bikini Bottom.“Purge 7” however, is contradictory to the “Beach House” in more ways than one. Where pristine order reigned over the abode at sea, even staring at “Purge 7” for much longer than a few seconds made one want to throw up. Although perhaps that could be considered simply a further step toward the grotesque theme presented, no great art should be shown with the wild abandon that encapsulated “Purge 7”. A gingerbread disaster or a war-torn village is up to the eye of the beholder.
While these homemade gingerbread men provided an element of whimsy and originality that the rest of the treehouse lacked, they also strayed from the uniformity of the rest of the house in more ways than one.
The gummy crowbar and marshmallow beanie were valiant attempts to pay homage to the original film, however, without the out-of-place paper faces it is not ridiculous to assume that a viewer would hardly be able to recognize the theme of the piece.
Cookie-cutter decorations mixed with playful elements that bend the rules of the competition created a strong but lackluster creation from a promising vision.
The Dialogue for Democracy classroom's gingerbread competition showcased more than just the vibrant mix of creativity, craftsmanship, and chaos present in the houses. From the orderly charm of the “Beach House” to the violent spectacle of “Purge 7,” each creation showcased the collaboration and unique flavor that each journalist brings to CatlinSpeak. However, that is not to say there was not a winner.
In first place, with a festive mix of holiday flavors and pop culture references, “Keep the crumbs. Ya gingerbread goons!” reigns supreme. Where the other creations may have fallen short in theme, creativity, or aesthetics, “Keep the crumbs. Ya gingerbread goons!” managed to be just above average in each of them.
On the contrary, the second-place exhibit, “Beach House,” excelled in specific areas. Its relaxed nautical aesthetics present throughout the building came through in a way that no other creation could match, making it even more unfortunate that the house was entirely store-bought.
Finally, in third place, with perhaps the heart of the competition but certainly the least uniformity, is “Purge 7.” While the story leaves one saddened, it is looking at the dreadful disaster of the house that brings tears to the viewer's eyes.
While “Purge 7”'s ideas may be considered outside the box, “Keep the crumbs. Ya gingerbread goons!” came from inside one. The ready-made gingerbread treehouse was furnished traditionally; long white icicles of frosting dripped from a snowy roof covered in gumdrops, and a cleverly constructed confectionary wreath and candy ornaments provided pops of color throughout the construction. These more basic decorations provided a pleasant, if not slightly bare, background for the exhibit's namesake, Home Alone's very own Kevin and the Wet Bandits.
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‘Twas the week before Christmas break when all throughout the Black Pearl math classroom winter magic was at work. A room usually filled with students solving math equations on whiteboards, or scribbling formulas furiously on notebooks was transformed into a veritable gingerbread house factory.
Iridescent blue and white sprinkles were tossed about. Seasonal colored icing was squeezed out of piping bags. Groans of frustration could be heard with each crumble, crack, or snap in their elaborate structures.
Now who were these industrious individuals tirelessly assembling, decorating, and crafting the wintry delicacy that is gingerbread? Not the rosy-cheeked elves from Santa’s workshop, not Rudolf and friends equipped with piping bags, but the CatlinSpeak staff of the Catlin Gabel School (CGS).
The staff were split into four groups and constructed their own renditions of a gingerbread house in hopes of scoring high on the following three criteria: (1) Creativity and Originality, (2) Thematic Coherence, and (3) Presentation and Overall Impact.
While four gingerbread houses were made, I will only be reviewing three as there would be too much personal bias if I were to review my own creation.
I will be examining how each gingerbread house measures up to the three criteria. Each criterion will be given a rating out of 5 stars (5 stars meaning “Absolutely show-stopping!” and 1 star meaning “Better luck next time…”).
Now without further ado, let’s see which gingerbread houses would make Santa proud and which ones are simply crumby.
Catlin Quad Review
Creativity and Originality ★★★★☆
Thematic Coherence ★★☆☆☆
Presentation and Overall Impact ★★★☆☆
First up is the “Catlin Quad” gingerbread house made by Hadley Cress ‘27, Chip Downes-Le Guin ‘25, Isaiah Dada ‘25, and Jordan Devlin ‘25. Their choice of theme by itself gives them some originality points because I am sure there are very few gingerbread houses made in the quad’s likeness.
In addition, there are many elements that used materials originally and creatively. Pretzel sticks served as the trunks of the quad’s many trees and impressively remained standing with the help of a couple of mini marshmallows. Green frosting-covered marshmallows were carefully pasted on top making for some pretty accurate-looking foliage. The team also used crushed-up dragees (small chocolate confection balls) to make CGS’s iconic pathways, which offered a nice change in texture to the set.
The team also clearly put a lot of effort and attention into replicating the quad’s layout with 3D gingerbread structures. Each of the buildings (Modern Language, Math, Science, and Dant House) generally resembled the actual shape from a bird’s eye view. The semi-circle stone wall made out of marshmallows added to the authenticity as well.
While many of the elements were creative and originally made, they lacked a bit of fine-tuned execution to make a passerby immediately identify this gingerbread set as the Catlin quad. For instance, the trees resemble ones you would see on a tropical beach and not the quad’s famous pines and cedars.
Although there was a clear attempt to make accurate outlines of the quad’s buildings, the layer of white icing topped with blue sprinkles makes it somewhat difficult to differentiate them from one another.
Furthermore, the tropical vibe from the trees and the snow on top of the buildings make for a hodgepodge of conflicting seasons; Winter Wonderland meets Palm Beach one could say. Now, this is not to say that there is something necessarily wrong with this combination. It is simply not what would come to mind when thinking of the Catlin quad.
Overall, the “Catlin Quad” was a very original idea, with creative design elements, and an eye for detail, but the execution came a bit short.
Beach House Review
Creativity and Originality ★★★★★
Thematic Coherence ★★★★☆
Presentation and Overall Impact ★★★★☆
Next up is the “Beach House” made by Erin Chow ‘25, Theo Butler ‘25, Charlie Nemecek ‘25, and Priya Klein ‘26. There is certainly no denying that a beach-themed gingerbread house is a very original and creative theme. I personally have never seen a gingerbread house placed in a warmer environment and I view it as a good refreshing twist on tradition.
It is not only the originality of the theme itself that makes this gingerbread house amazing, but it is the small creative, and cleverly designed adornments that truly are the stars of the show. And where to even start?
There are Triscuit biscuits that have been expertly placed to form an attractive thatched roof that one could easily see on a beach house in the tropics. Twizzlers are used as comfortable sunbathing towels for cute little owls and dog figurines. These feathered and furry friends lay protected from the sun by cute striped cocktail umbrellas.
The use of brown sugar as sand was also inventive and looked very much like the actual thing. And just below it, one can see blue waves crashing onto the shore aptly decorated with white and light blue frosting. The contrast between the dry brown sugar and the more aquatic-looking frosting really emphasizes the difference in textures between the materials making both elements look very life-like.
In addition, some more furry friends stay afloat with the help of orange and yellow peach ring buoys. A small hot pink flamingo can also be seen balancing on one leg towards the entrance of the house. This only adds to the beachy, peaceful homey feelings emanating from this gingerbread design.
While the “Catlin Quad” had a little hint of a beachy vibe, the “Beach House” certainly takes the cake as it has all the objects one would see at a tropical beach including the big blue sea itself. However, this is not to say there are no critiques. For instance, the colorful chocolate buttons as well as the fir tree resting on the side of the beach house give off more of a wintry feel which doesn’t fit the extreme beachy setting.
As for presentation and overall impact, the “Beach House” is very aesthetically pleasing and immediately gives off a strong visual impression. Everything has been piped very well and the decorative elements have been evenly placed. One small critique I have is that the Triscuit roof blends a little too much with the brown sugar sand making it less visually appealing.
Overall, the “Beach House” was a fairly creative idea, used design elements to a powerfully visually appealing effect, and theme-wise was spot on.
Purge 7 Review
Creativity and Originality ★★★★☆
Thematic Coherence ★☆☆☆☆
Presentation and Overall Impact ★★☆☆☆
Our final gingerbread house “Purge 7: Rock Bottom in Bikini Bottom” created by Charlie Broad ‘25, Maddie Snyder ‘26, Evan Zhang ‘26, and Brittney Haldorsen ‘25 has done the unlikely by combining Christmas, gore, and the house of a yellow porous cartoon character who resides in Bikini Bottom. The team’s original theme was Spongebob Squarepants’ pineapple under the sea, which throughout the decorating process quickly took a sinister turn.
The majority of the design elements in this gingerbread house were creatively made to be as bloody and violent as possible. Exhibit A would be the copious amounts of fake blood (bright red frosting) dripping and sloping down all corners of the house. The way the frosting has been applied accurately resembles real blood splatters which is a nice detail.
The true creative liberties were taken with the gingerbread men. Mangled limbs of an unfortunate pair of gingerbread men sit on the top of the roof and some have been sandwiched between the corners of the house. Others suffered a worse fate and were impaled by candy cane ends.
I confess to having never seen an extremely violent and tragic scene tied to something as merry and festive as a gingerbread house before. In that sense, this creation is certainly very original and unique.
While the massacred gingerbread men and the fake blood nicely encapsulate the horror and sanguinary Purge motif, Spongebob’s humble abode seems to be completely lost. There was an attempt to decorate using pineapple colors with streaks of green and yellow frosting, but it is hard to see underneath all the gingerbread men carnage. In addition, the iconic pineapple shape is not present either.
As someone who is not a huge fan of horror movies, this gingerbread house isn’t necessarily visually appealing to me. There could have been more design elements besides the gingerbread men and I think the frosting could have been done a little more intentionally. However, it is certain to give a sharp and unforgettable impression to anyone who lays eyes on the disturbing scene before them.
Summary and Conclusion:
After evaluating each gingerbread house using the three criteria, I can confidently conclude that the “Beach House” has the other two designs beat. The team struck a good combination of having overall original and creative ideas while also executing them in a visually attractive way.
Both the “Catlin Quad” and the “Purge 7: Rock Bottom in Bikini Bottom” were also very original and unique, but simply didn’t have the same level of decorative finesse as the “Beach House”.
Even though there was a clear gingerbread house that rated higher in terms of the three criteria, all of the creations were special in their own ways. Through it all, the teams participated in friendly competition, and the extra holiday spirit points gained were just icing on the gingerbread house.
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You may have been wondering what the students of Honors Dialogue for Democracy were doing carrying around gingerbread houses on Monday, December 16th, 2024. After an intense 30 minutes of decorating, passionate decision-making, and collaborating, four houses were revealed.
With criteria of creativity and originality, thematic coherence, presentation, and overall impact in mind, here is my honest review of three of the houses.
Catlin Quad Review:
At first glance, my initial thought was “That looks like the quad!”; later, I realized I was correct. This treehouse included multiple buildings around the quad: modern language, math, science, and dant house, and they were all built with homemade gingerbread! Although I did not get a taste of the homemade gingerbread, Honors Dialogue for Democracy teacher Helena Gougeon described the gingerbread as “lovely and delightful.”
The theme of the Catlin Quad was well represented through this gingerbread creation; I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the gravel road (created with chocolate balls) and the texture of the grass and trees (using a different decorative tip.)
The gingerbread buildings also matched the shape of the actual buildings on campus, however, I would have liked to see more variety in the decorations for the buildings. I found the white icing and blue sprinkles repetitive and if the buildings had more distinct decorations the creativity of this creation would have been enhanced.
The main tree of the quad, a pretzel stick covered in textured green icing surrounded by marshmallows, particularly caught my eye. To me, it was a focal point of the visual appeal of the Catlin Quad.
Viewing this creation, I could almost picture myself walking across the chocolate-covered roads, sitting under the pretzel-icing tree, and attending classes in the homemade gingerbread buildings. This gingerbread house made me feel as though I had been transported to the serene scene of the Catlin quad.
I was very impressed with the overall execution of this gingerbread creation and found the theme very relevant. Personally, I have always enjoyed seeing miniature versions of landscape creations and this gingerbread creation was no exception.
Home Alone Treehouse Review:
This gingerbread treehouse immediately caught my eye as it allowed me to picture the scene from the Home Alone when Kevin was escaping from the house intruders Harry and Marv. This gingerbread treehouse “Keep the Crumbs Ya Gingerbread Goons!” was creative and matched the upcoming festivities leading up to winter break.
Although the treehouse captured this specific moment of Home Alone, the printed images of the characters improved the thematic coherence of this house. In order to strengthen the creativity and coherence of this house, it would have been appreciated to see how the characters could have been created by hand. Had the characters not been a part of the treehouse, it would have been more challenging to comprehend the theme of the gingerbread house.
Overall, I found the presentation very visually appealing with lots of colors and small details including icicles on the treehouse's roof. The creators also ensured that various candies were used from Haribo Sour S'ghetti to Skittles and lightbulb candies. The icing decorations were also very thoughtful and neat, especially on the balcony and the treehouse ladder.
After viewing this treehouse, I was left with a festive feeling, inspiring me to rewatch Home Alone. Next time I rewatch the movie, I will think about this gingerbread treehouse as the corresponding scene comes on!
Purge 7 Review
During the thirty minutes of construction, my ears were filled with the loud commotion of decoration decision-making from the group creating Purge 7: Rock Bottom in Bikini Bottom. I heard exclamations about where the candy cane muskets should go and how many decapitated gingerbread men were needed.
A recreation of Bikini Bottom, this gingerbread house was not in a traditional shape, instead, it mimicked the landscape of Bikini Bottom. Additionally, the homemade gingerbread used to construct the house added a creative touch and enabled this house to have more originality through the homemade gingerbread. The theme of this house was unique and slightly chaotic, however, this could have been a part of the group’s message: “There is always war even in Bikini Bottom.”
I believe the theme of this gingerbread house could have been executed better by including symbols from SpongeBob, more texture, and a variety of colors to showcase this creation of Bikini Bottom clearly. However, there was lots of vivid imagery, especially with the decapitated gingerbread men and red icing used as blood. These graphic details deepened the visual appeal and thematic coherence of the gingerbread house’s theme.
While the gingerbread house's chaotic execution reflected its unconventional theme, a more cohesive creation approach could have enhanced its ability to communicate the message of war in Bikini Bottom more effectively. However, I did enjoy this fun twist on Bikini Bottom!
Final Thoughts
Each of the houses that were created in thirty minutes reflected a thoughtful process. I will now address which of the houses followed each of the strongest criteria: creativity and originality, thematic coherence, presentation, and overall impact.
In terms of creativity and originality, I thought that Purge 7: Rock Bottom in Bikini Bottom had the most imaginative idea as I never would have thought that Purge 7 and Bikini Bottom could be combined. To me, the Catlin Quad had the strongest thematic coherence as the Catlin Quad gingerbread creation seemed so realistic and each of the buildings was constructed to look like the actual buildings. Finally, for presentation and overall impact, “Keep the Crumbs Ya Gingerbread Goons!” stole the show with its beautiful decorations and intricate piped icing.
Overall, the creators thoughtfully executed each house. From homemade gingerbread and decapitated gingerbread men to detailed icing techniques, every house had unique details, making no house alike. Which house do you think achieved each of the criteria the best? -
It was a stressful Monday afternoon. Hopes were high, tensions were flaring, and M&M’s were falling left and right as frantic Dialogue for Democracy students dashed around the classroom, attempting to complete their gingerbread construction before the clock struck 3:00. At long last, after half an hour, the writers placed the finishing touches on their architectural wonders and monstrosities.
With the period for assembling houses coming to an end, it was thus time to judge them. Students participated in a gallery walk, noting the positive and negative elements of each. Then, they were tasked with rating, ranking, and reviewing the sugary structures of all other groups.
Today, I will be reviewing three groups’ gingerbread houses and evaluating them in the categories of Creativity and Originality, Thematic Coherence, and Presentation and Overall Impact. May the odds be ever in their favor!
Group 1 recreated Kevin McCallister’s tree house in Home Alone, complete with gingerbread versions of the aforementioned eight-year-old and the two crooks, Marv and Harry, that attack his house.
Group 2 also based their cookie on an existing design, assembling a model of Catlin Gabel School’s own quad, filled with green grass, blue dirt paths, and cobblestones.
Finally, Group 3 concocted an edible beach villa, built on brown sugar sand and facing an ocean of blue frosting.
Creativity and Originality
While each gingerbread house was made from scratch, some groups had a leg up, using the help of a store-bought kit. Others went in headfirst, baking even the biscuits on their own. Therefore, I will begin by analyzing and critiquing each group on their employment of original designs and creative materials.
First up is Group 1, who generated one of the more interesting gingerbread structures I’ve seen in recent years. By straying from the standard look of a gingerbread house and instead making a treehouse, complete with a fence and rungs on its side, they succeeded in creating a distinct image.
Some specific details that I enjoy seeing are the dollops of white frosting that served as icicles on the house’s roof, the multicolored candies representing dangling Christmas lights, and the little gingerbread robbers.
Despite basing the idea of their treehouse on an existing movie, the group’s execution of this idea was innovative and new. However, they were aided by a gingerbread kit which likely influenced their design choices. For that, I give them a 7/10 in this category.
Next is Group 2, who replicated the CGS quad. Like the previous group, in terms of uniqueness, this house went above and beyond. The incorporation of multiple small components, most likely references to the real-life ML, Math, Science, and Dant buildings on the campus, stands out to me as a very unique quality.
Similarly, they consistently utilized materials in surprising ways, using pretzel sticks as tree trunks, marshmallows as cobblestones, and ground-up granola bars as sidewalks. More impressively, they did not have the assistance of outside instructions, like the other two groups. Therefore, I award them a high rating of 9/10.
Third is Group 3, who came up with a triangular prism-shaped gingerbread house. As opposed to the typical cubic design that the other two groups used, they embraced an angular model, giving their home more structural creativity. Still, it is worth noting that this group, like Group 1, did not build their house from scratch and instead were aided by a kit, giving them a leg up.
Nevertheless, they did not fail to add various elements to enhance the design. Not only did they include a walkway made of chocolate sticks, a beach made of brown sugar, and waves of blue and silver icing, but the group even brought mini animal cookies and umbrellas to top it all off. Considering these factors, I rate the house an 8.5/10.
Thematic Coherence
No matter whether original or borrowed, each gingerbread house reflected a chosen theme. Moving forward, I will judge each group in regards to their house’s consistency and communication regarding their theme.
I will be starting again with Group 1, whose theme was “Keep the Crumbs, Ya Gingerbread Goons!” Their treehouse is evidently a reference to the scene in 1990’s Home Alone where Kevin swings into his treehouse and cuts the rope, sending crooks Harry and Marv flying down into the snow below.
While the model they used does not bear much resemblance to the actual structure seen in the movie, the characters’ positions and the general layout are accurate, and they got the message across.
One aspect that appears to be missing, though, is the inclusion of Kevin’s famous traps, which make the holiday film truly memorable. Had the group somehow integrated these, they would have received full marks. I deem their house worthy of a 9/10.
Continuing on, I will evaluate Group 2, who went with the fitting theme of “The Catlin Quad.” The four buildings they constructed definitely align with the appearance and structure of their larger counterparts, minus the more intricate details. Even the location of the trees, the spread of the sidewalks, and the placement of the stones mirror the real world as well.
Still, the way certain parts were conveyed failed to communicate the overall theme. I am particularly stumped by the blue sprinkles on top of the buildings and the presentation of the trees, which seem to be palm trees; these make the schoolyard look more like a holiday resort. All in all, I give this group a 7/10 in this section.
Finally, I will review the gingerbread house of Group 3, who chose the theme “Beach House.” In my opinion, they did the best job of getting their message across and embellishing it further.
Beginning with a somewhat simple design of a hut, they added much more: the beach surrounding it, its patrons and their accommodations, the ocean, and even two forest creatures cruising along the coastline.
Each tiny detail matches perfectly with the style, aesthetic, and theme the group was attempting to achieve. I have no notes. For the successful efforts, I rate their house a flawless 10/10 in thematic coherence.
Presentation and Overall Impact
Now that all three gingerbread houses have received a rating in the two primary categories, it is worth mentioning my impression of each overall. Wrapping it up, I will give every group a general score based on their construction’s visual impression and emotional appeal.
To begin, Group 1 did not leave a very strong impact on me at first glance. Though the treehouse idea was certainly unique, some materials were repurposed well, and the theme was nostalgic, it looked generic in every other sense; the house was a traditional structure and the building blocks were store-bought, making it stand out less. Regardless, the Home Alone reference does pull at my heartstrings and evoke fond childhood memories, so the group receives a 6.5/10 from me.
Coming up next is Group 2, whose Quad-themed house immediately called to me and left a strong impression - the sparkly sprinkles, Tetris-like buildings, and familiar setting were all aspects that struck me. Looks-wise, it was not impressive, given that the icing was falling off in places and decorations were haphazardly positioned. Still, it is a nostalgic and comfortable scene to gaze at, earning the group a 7/10 in this category.
Last but not least is Group 3, whose beach house was both visually stunning and evocative of sentimental times. Though they did not start from scratch, they definitely improved the original kit design plenty, and by adding realistic sand, a glittering ocean, and cutesy island-goers, their house triumphed over the other two groups in making a sight to remember. I really feel like I am a little kid visiting the Oregon coast, and I will thank them with a solid 8.5/10.
Final Rankings
Cue the victory music! Each house has received scores in all three categories and the results are in for the annual Gingerbread Games.
In last place is Group 1 - although they had possibly the most fun theme out of all, it failed to meet my standards of aesthetics. In second place is Group 2, whose Catlin Quad was a delight to see, yet not executed in the smoothest fashion. And in first place, with a whopping average score of 9/10, is Group 3 whose gingerbread beach hut was exciting, new, and wistful all at the same time.
Folks, that concludes my evaluation. If your cookie creation emerged victorious, congratulations; if its score fell short, fret not! For readers at home, feel free to take a peek at the houses yourself, but remember, don’t rate what you cannot taste - the proof is in the pudding.
Or, in this case, the pastry.