First Place: Toy Store at Christmas

by Charlie & Nancy Kocsmiersky

The Toyland theme inspired me to think about all of the toys and games that I played with when I was younger. There were too many to choose from so I decided to make the whole toy store. Now I get to make a traditional house and still celebrate toys and the joy of giving at Christmas time.

My mom helped me with the base, decorations and getting all of the candy. We tried to use as many interesting and different techniques as we could find in books and online.

Second Place: Nutcracker Sweets

by Children, Youth and Families of Christ Church Cathedral

We were inspired by the Nutcracker Suite that one of students is performing in, but are broadening the theme to include all sorts of candy, toys and holiday fun.

Third Place: Gingerbread Candyland

by The Elwell Family

Our family worked together to design and build our gingerbread creation which is based on Candyland, a family favorite game. The cookie game pieces travel along a candy path through a land of lollipops, a candy cane forest, a land of licorice and continue on to reach the gingerbread house of King Candy at the end.

We used jolly ranchers, spice drops, licorice, candy canes, nutter butter cookies, and dum dum lollipops.

First Place: Horton’s Ho Ho Home

by Heydi, CeCe and Justin Cambria

We got inspired last year when we visited the museum and saw the beautiful gingerbread houses. We each took part in the creation of our house: dad gave us the name, CeCe made the design, and helped mom to put it together.

Our gingerbread house has walls made of gingerbread cookie, we used wafers to shingle the walls on the first floor, some furniture is made of pretzels, we also used jelly beans, fondant and icing.

Second Place: Festive Foosball

by Seven Santas (Josie Ascano-Brownlee, Lizzie Barker, Anya Bladen, Aspen Ford, Layla Mackie, Clara Ramsburgh & Shelby Weston)

Our gingerbread display inspiration was creating a foosball table made from Lego bricks and letter blocks. Our gingerbread men foosball players make it festive for the holidays!

To make this display, we used gingerbread, royal icing, candy canes, Lego candies, fondant, peppermint candies, rice cereal treats, and a gumball.

Third Place: You’ve Been Chosen!!

by Godin-Rosario Family: Jennifer, Jaden, Kaden & Vida

Our family came together with boundless excitement to create this interactive gingerbread display inspired by the beloved Toy Story claw machine. From mixing dough to decorating dozens of tiny gingerbread aliens, it was a true team effort involving grandparents, cousins, and kids of all ages. Everyone had a hand in bringing this magical scene to life, from assembling the candy-coated claw machine to crafting Slinky Dog out of edible delights.

First Place: Christmas in Candy Land

by The Mackie Family

The Gingerbread in Toyland theme inspired us to bring to life every child’s fantasy — the beloved board game Candy Land made out of actual candy and sweet treats, with a festive holiday touch!

Our gingerbread players make their way across the board past the Peppermint Forest, the Licorice Lagoon, Gramma Nutt’s Hut, Gumdrop Mountain, Queen Frostine’s Palace, and the Lollipop Woods on their way to King Kandy’s Castle, where Santa has just landed!

Second Place: A Nutcracker Marionette Theater

by Patricia Bailey-Sarnelli

I saw a marionette production of ” The Firebird” last summer, and I was inspired to create a Marionette Theater based on another ballet, “The Nutcracker.” My idea is that this is a toy that a family has had for generations and that it is brought out during the Christmas holidays, and it is a tradition that on Christmas Eve the children in the family present a marionette version of “The Nutcracker.”

Ballet fans, I put in three items to allude to three other
ballets or ballet films. Can you find them?
Hint: “Swan Lake”, “Coppelia” and “The Red Shoes.”

Third Place: You’ve Got a Friend in Me

by The Salva Family

Inspired by the movie Toy Story.

First Place: Nani’s BINGO

by Auntie’s Custom Cakes

As a child I have fond memories of sitting at my grandmother’s card table after holiday meals playing BINGO. I still have her original 1960’s Milton Bradley set which is regularly played around my table; making more memories, carrying on family traditions and enjoying each other’s company with laughter, love and a touch of competitiveness.

Second Place: The Nutcracker Traps the Mouse King

by Patti Bessette & Kathryn Bessette-Dubour

Our family loves the story of The Nutcracker, especially the fight scene with the Mouse King. It’s so exciting! What if the Nutcracker traps the Mouse King in the game Mousetrap?

We used construction grade gingerbread to build the basic structures with caramel as the glue. The windows and flames are isomalt and everything is set on a foundation of the classic Rice Krispies treat recipe.

Third Place: Winter Wonderland Cottage

by Berneice Dixon Sugar D.L.’s Baked Goods and Confections