Chris and I took a great day trip to the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville this week to take in the National Gingerbread House Competition. This year the event is back “in person” and guests can view the creations up close and personal instead of on the internet.

We chose to have an early birthday lunch for Chris at Edison before viewing all of the amazing creations. It was a good idea to get fortified before we embarked on the tour that takes visitors all over the resort to view gingerbread confections of all shapes and sizes.

The grand prize winner was stupendous and is on display in an enclosed case where everyone can ooh and ahh and watch a short video about the competition. It is well worth your time to watch it and understand a little bit more about the competition. Here is a picture of that award winning creation.

There are multiple categories for the gingerbread competition according to age. I loved some of the children and youth entries and some were spectacular. I could never have made anything like them as a child nor could I do anything remotely similar as an adult.

I thought it would be fun to share a lot of the ones I saw that I loved over the next two days so settle in for a quick look at some of my favorites.

Of course I loved the following one because it was a bunny.

This one was definitely one of the best ones and was difficult to photograph as it was in a glass / plexiglass case. Please ignore the reflections of the people and my phone. 🙂

Definitely my favorite one in the children’s category was Zoom Santa. Check out his computer screen and the little mask on the table. Perfect!

This Advent Calendar was amazing! From the drawers that looked like they all opened to the little elves and toys it was truly a work of craftsmanship.

Another personal favorite was the Charcuterie Tray one–doesn’t it all look so real? Hard to believe that gingerbread is the basic ingredient.

This one was cute because it was titled Reindeer on Strike. All of the other animals had to pull Santa’s sleigh while the reindeer protested unfair work conditions.

Come back tomorrow to view a few more entries in the contest. I just think they are so fun to look at and marvel at the creativity and time that goes into each one. Tell me which one is your favorite today and remember that each comment means a 50 cent donation to our Comments for a Cause – Alzheimer’s Foundation.