By Tia Porter
Two gingerbread houses made by freshmen during the event. (Photo by Tia Porter)
How many students does it take to build a gingerbread house? With the fall semester coming to an end, students gathered at Campus Center North (CCN) to answer this question and decorate their gingerbread creations.
During the event, which took place on Dec. 4, cookies were frosted, houses were built, and gumdrops were eaten. Clumps of frosting and broken gingerbread were scattered across the table as everyone worked hard to keep their little buildings together.
Gingerbread kits supplied by Garrett Abell. (Photo by Tia Porter)
This festive activity was planned by Garrett Abell, a senior arts management and anthropology major. “I feel like there aren’t a lot of holiday-based events,” Abell said. “I try to do events based around a holiday, like in October I did a pumpkin patch. It’s a lot of fun, and there’re very few events in the last two weeks before we leave for the semester. There’s kinda a rule that events that aren’t academic can’t happen after Pancake Madness, so I did this before Pancake Madness.”
Garrett Abell holding a gingerbread house. (Photo by Tia Porter)
“I did this last year, and it went well so I wanted to do it again,” Abell explained. “I’m part of the Purchase Activity Board. There’s currently three of us, and we all have a budget to have two events each month. This is technically one of my November events, I just pushed it into December so I can do gingerbread houses before everybody goes for winter break.”
“This is my last semester doing it,” Abell added. “It’s not hard to plan an event, so I'm sure someone will organize something like this next year.”
While most of the students who attended the event put together mini gingerbread houses, one pair decided to take this challenge to another level. Elijah Silver, a freshman environmental studies major, decided to use spare pieces of gingerbread to create something different.
Elijah Silver (left) and Elijah Lulla (right) working on their gingerbread mansion. (Photo by Tia Porter)
Two bags of frosting and more than 20 pieces of gingerbread were sacrificed to make the gingerbread mansion a reality. Complete with an upper and lower level, Silver felt confident their creation could change the world. “This could be a housing solution,” Silver joked while adding more frosting to the mansion’s base. “This is pretty stable, but I think we have to downsize. We might have taken on too much too soon.”
Silver’s roommate and co-architect Elijah Lulla, a freshman scriptwriting major, was just as excited about their creation. “It’s a fucking masterpiece,” Lulla said. “We are the Frank Lloyd Wright of gingerbread houses.”
“Highest bidder,” Silver said, offering to auction off the mansion. “Some construction is still needed, but we have framework. It has structural integrity. The bidding starts at $200!”
Elijah Silver (left) and Elijah Lulla (right) sitting behind their gingerbread mansion. (Photo by Tia Porter)
“It looks delicious, honestly,” said Sariah Navarro, a freshman psychology major, regarding the structure. “All these houses look so cute.” She showed up halfway through the event and in only a few minutes her hands were covered in frosting.
Every student who designed a house managed to create something unique. While some were built on a larger scale, others remained small.
Sariah Navarro showing off her gingerbread house. (Photo by Tia Porter)
“I’m not even kidding when I say this has been an amazing day,” said Anya Harvey, a freshman dance major, as she decorated her house with gumdrops. “I would love to do this again!”
A gingerbread house supported by gumdrops and frosting. (Photo by Tia Porter)
With finals week just around the corner, gingerbread house decorating was the perfect way to relax with friends and get into the holiday spirit. It was a stress-free event that allowed students of different majors and years to embrace the holiday season together on campus.
Elijah Silver (left) and Elijah Lulla (right) sitting behind their gingerbread mansion. (Photo by Tia Porter)
For more events on campus, check out the Purchase Activities Board, @pab_purchase on Instagram.
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