The Floyd Country Store is pleased to invite the community to participate in a Gingerbread House Contest in downtown Floyd! Exercise those creative baking skills and bring family and friends together to create a sweet work of holiday art. The structures can be simple or ornate and decked with your favorite candies (we’ve got barrels of them if you need inspiration). Through this event, we will highlight the creativity of our community through a tradition that celebrates the artistic skills of all ages!

Shelley Clark’s 2022 Gingerbread House Model of The Floyd Country Store

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Participants in the contest can register below by Saturday, December 2, and bring creations to the Floyd Country Store during business hours between December 1-5. The houses will be displayed in the windows of the Floyd Country Store, The Soda Fountain, and other downtown businesses to be admired from outside through December 24, with votes cast by the community online before December 20. Winners will be announced on December 21, with excellent prizes donated by local businesses!

Award categories include General, Youth, Popular, Judges’ Choice, Creative, and Business. Kids are encouraged to enter their own creations into the Youth category (13 and under). Local businesses are invited to participate and be represented in our Business Category.

Timeline for the Gingerbread House Contest in Downtown Floyd

• Participants can register by Tuesday, November 28th Saturday, December 2nd (Deadline Extended)
• Gingerbread houses accepted at the Floyd Country Store from December 1st – 5th
• Houses will be on display December 6th in The Floyd Country Store, The Soda Fountain, and other downtown windows to be viewed from outside
• Community voting will determine the winner of the Popular category. Voting will take place online December 7th – 20th. We will set up a QR code if folks want to vote while looking at the houses in person, or they can check out the submissions online and vote from there. Each house will be photographed for easy online viewing. Since we are encouraging folks to share their creations with the community for viewing and voting, the contest will not be made anonymous.
• All categories besides “Popular” will be judged by a panel of local community leaders. Panel judging will take place Dec. 7th – 20th.
• Winners will be announced on December 21st.
• Optional gingerbread house pickup December 24th. Gingerbread houses left after the pickup deadline will be thrown away.

Contest Rules

• Please include your name and Gingerbread House title in a visible separate piece of paper.
• All Gingerbread Houses must be placed on a plywood board base or cardboard not exceeding 22”x22”
• All Gingerbread Houses must be 100% edible (candy, embellishments, materials) except for lights ‘inside/outside’ the house.
• Non-edible support structure material other than the baseboard may not be used.
• No artificial interior materials, such as Styrofoam or wood, are to be used to construct or decorate the house.
• Non-edible decorations, such as paint, ribbon, figurines, etc. may be used ONLY to decorate your base.
• Gingerbread House Kits are allowed in Youth (13 and under) category and will be required to be labeled as made from a kit base. (Your best bet is to make from scratch!)

Recipes and Patterns

Need a recipe for gingerbread or a template to help with your house? Here are some resources to get you started!

• Serious Eats Construction Gingerbread Recipe
• Epicurious Gingerbread House
• Gingerbread Journal Recipes
• Gingerbread Journal Patterns

Reach out to maggie@floydcountrystore.com for questions or more information.

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REGISTER FOR THE 2023 GINGERBREAD HOUSE CONTEST