Community Corner

Gingerbread House Gallery: Check Out California's Contest Entries

We asked and you delivered, big time: Here are the Golden State entries in Patch's gingerbread house decorating contest.

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Courtney Teague, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
What says holiday season in the Golden State like a Golden Gate Bridge gingerbread house?
What says holiday season in the Golden State like a Golden Gate Bridge gingerbread house? (Courtesy of Madeline Carpenter)

CALIFORNIA — Amid a year of uncertainty, at least one tradition has remained steadfast for California Patch readers.

We're talking gingerbread houses of all shapes, sizes and stripes.

We've got gingerbread houses a la "Spongebob Squarepants" and Candyland, a triple-decker gingerbread house and a functional gingerbread lantern with windows made out of sugar. California Patch readers showed international pride with houses decorated for Canada, Ireland and Peru.

Find out what's happening in Across Californiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

There's handmade gingerbread, store-bought gingerbread kits and even a vintage ginger bread house from 1990. One Bay Area Patch reader fashioned a gingerbread replica of the iconic Golden State Bridge in San Francisco.

We've got something for everyone in this gingerbread house photo gallery. So sit back, relax and get ready to ride this sugar high.

Find out what's happening in Across Californiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Kay Nowacek of Danville: "From an old swedish gingerbread recipe from my mother in law. She made them for her family and we made them for our family and granddaughters. everyone helps and does the decorations. It is our wonderful tradition for three generations."
Lukas Kirsch of El Cerrito: "I made a Peruvian gingerbread house by using lots of skittles for the flag, bird and flower!"
Sophia Staykov of Larkspur/Corte Madera
Blanca Salmeron of Temecula: "Gingerbread House is made of homemade Gingerbread, royal icing, food coloring, made my own patterns, baked, cut and decorated. It is a Gingerbread Shop."
Victoria Bond of Del Mar - Carmel Valley: "My first ever gingerbread house. From a pre-made kit. I put Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster) at my front door!"
Meagan McFadden of Pleasant Hill in 1990
Julie Sovero of Danville: "We wanted a peppermint red & green theme and added Santa & Frosty to make it feel like extra Christmas spirit."
Camilla Wilson of Lafayette: "My daughter Kyrstin’s candyland themed house...she wanted to make it 3 stories high!"
Emery Merkel of Encinitas: "Pop tarts & 4 yr old love."
Jillian Nixon of Walnut Creek: "Bikini Bottom Christmas - We stacked round cookies to create Spongebob's Pineapple. Patrick Star and Squidward's houses are made from cake. The sandy bottom is made from crushed gingerbread cookies."
Madeline Carpenter of Lamorinda: "I made the Golden Gate Bridge out of homemade gingerbread dough. Icing, candies, and twine helped with the construction."
Blake Carpenter of Lamorinda: "I made a gingerbread house out of homemade dough. Icing and candies added to the construction."
Leticia Whitacre of Elk Grove made this with her 8-year-old.
Adrienne Guthrie of Mission Viejo: "My 3 daughter’s ages 10, 7, & 5 made this Candyland theme gingerbread house. We had purchased this kit last year to make for my youngest’s 5th birthday that was going to be a Candyland theme. Due to Covid-19 we had to cancel her 5th birthday party and she didn’t get to make this back in April. It was a double celebration making it this year! We wished her happy birthday 7 months later! This was their first year making it all by themselves!"
Juel Godin of Lake Elsinore: "My husband put it together and I decorated with a candy cane cobble stone pathway that leads to snow in the back with Santa waiting on the roof and a Christmas tree by the front door."
Monica Sullivan of Castro Valley: "3-year-old Amina loves Bullseye, Target, and the color red. This pre-made gingerbread house was a must this year but with her own spin of Bullseye (being red) and plenty of dog bones around the house for all the puppies out there."
Allison Landsberger of Temecula: "My daughter and her friend made the house. They got creative after running out of white frosting for the snow!"
Dawn Mayeda of Encinitas: "To demonstrate fun without sugar, I created this gingerbread house using pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, and unsweetened cereals, with a bran muffin as a chimney!"
Dawn Mayeda of Encinitas: "This gingerbread house was made to match my holiday tablecloth. I started with a kit for a "mansion" and customized, adding candy cane pillars, baking a pineapple cookie-stamped transom decoration, creating a yellow sugar star and gems, cotton candy smoke, and meringue mushrooms."
Megan Montano of Livermore: "I usually make everything from scratch and run out of energy and time by the time I get to decorating. (Or someone eats it!) it was so fun and therapeutic decorating a gingerbread house! Got the babies their own to decorate but somehow I still ended up with bits and pieces missing. I guess my 2 year old found it too hard to resist."
Monika Stout of Encinitas: "I made a gingerbread hanging lantern. I baked the gingerbread and melt sugar for the windows. I used royal icing for the snow decor."
Dimo Staykov of Larkspur/Corte Madera: "With my friend Jamie Evershed. We ate a lot of candy when we were making it."

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