By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Center in Medfield held its third annual Gingerbread House Decorating Competition late last month. This is an annual event that many look forward to because it fosters creativity and holiday spirit within The Center. This year there were three teams competing for the top prize: chocolate.
Sarah Hanifan, the director of The Council on Aging, organizes the event. She helps the teams by building the houses and supplying the teams with different edible goodies to decorate with. This year the teams had access to frosting, pretzels, peppermints, candies and a few different types of cereal.
The teams were given one hour to work and decorate their houses before the judges were able to view each creation. During the decorating time, the teams chatted with each other and traded supplies if they were to run out. Other attendants to The Center would circle through to check in on the work their friends were doing and to swap holiday stories, all while Christmas music softly played in the background of the competition.
For some competitors, this was their very first time at this event, while others have been aiming for first prize all three years. Most of the teams had been chosen by the competitors ahead of time, allowing people to work with their friends. One team met for the first time that day and quickly bonded to create a wonderful house.
Once the hour was complete, Hanifan invited everyone at The Center to judge the final gingerbread houses in four categories. The teams were competing for the most festive, best sweet tooth, most colorful, and the overall favorite. The three teams tied for the most festive and best sweet tooth, meaning everyone went home a winner. Most colorful was awarded to team number two and team number one took home the award for overall favorite.
This event was a great way to bring the holiday spirit into The Center and help everyone ease into the celebrations that laid ahead. The Center plans to host this event again next year and have even more teams competing. The Center is a great place for the community to come together to celebrate the holidays and to create joy and gingerbread.
