Cheers to 2021! We hope you are well-rested during the holidays!
After another year of hard work, we needed to end the year off with a fun activity of building gingerbread houses, because it was finally time to put work aside and have some fun! While we were not able to be together in the way we would like, by spending some quality time in-person with friends, we still enjoyed the holiday festivities with the help of the OLAs!
To mark the end of 2020 and the Fall school term, we hosted an evening featuring numerous gingerbread construction sites, where we bonded with each other like the icing that held the houses together. It was a night full of laughter, creativity, and most importantly, a sense of relief and relaxation after 4 months of unbelievable effort. Thank you to everyone who came! We hope you had a lot of fun (and something yummy to snack on later)!
To spice up our event (with just a touch more cinnamon), entries of baked masterpieces were submitted for a chance to win a piece of Waterloo merch. The winner was determined by a voting process that took place on Facebook.
Congratulations to Defne Erden and her amazing gingerbread house, Triangle House!
Deliciously baked at home, this uniquely-shaped house has clear windows where you can put a light inside and watch the magic happen. Together with the color palette of red, green, orange, and white, this gingerbread house really screams “masterpiece”!
But wait, the talent does not stop there! Everyone’s creation was so unique that although the Triangle House snagged the merch, all of them were masterpieces that deserved an award!
Best Use of Peppermints Award
Sometimes when we have an idea, we commit to it – which is what Sarah Abdulkarim did with her Gummy Crib. Imagine climbing onto its roof and surround yourself with beautiful icing swirls and colourful gummy landscaping!
Most Shrubbery Award
No house can be complete without some greens! Kinna Mistry and her house, Santa and Purple Santa, had twice the amount of Christmas trees! It was absolutely necessary to ensure each Santa has his own tree.
Most Unique “Gingerbread” House Award
What if due to high demand gingerbread is out of stock in grocery stores? Or you have no time to bake enough of it? No need to panic! To build her house, The Hut, Amy Shin joined crispy pretzel sticks with sweet chocolate bars, to construct a small hut in the land of “eggs”.
Best Candy on the “Block” Award
Smarties, coconut flakes, candy canes, cookies, chocolate loonies, candy rocks, and… Lego blocks! Perhaps there were plenty more hiding. If you crave a large variety of candies, be sure to visit Janna Fahmy and her house, Entry for The Great Canadian Baking Show!
Best Festive Cookies Award
This one definitely stood out among all the gingerbread houses. Although flat, Leanne Li’s baked goods, Santa’s Cookies Gone Wild, was just as impressive and appetizing! Their generous use of sprinkles, candies, and icing proudly celebrates the holiday season of 2020!
We might not be architects yet, but at least we can build some pretty impressive gingerbread houses!
