Houses of candy

Gingerbread houses will benefit those in need this holiday season

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

The lobby at the Inn at Gig Harbor will become home to a sweet little village this Thanksgiving — literally. For the fourth year, the staff at the hotel and restaurant will gather to build about 40 gingerbread houses for auction. The tasty treats will decorate the hotel’s lobby during Thanksgiving week, and the proceeds will benefit the Children’s Home Society in Vaughn.

The gingerbread building was General Manager Randy Fortier’s way of involving his staff with something they could have fun with during the holiday season and benefit the community at the same time.

“It’s a gathering of the staff and families,” said Mona Sarrensen, food and development operations manager. “We get together to do something enjoyable and relaxing to create a product to be auctioned off.”

The event begins in the kitchen with Executive Chef Oliver Coldeen, who whips up the gingerbread structures for the houses and prepares them for decoration.

“I have to make loads of extra frosting,” he said. “I like to see the houses when they’re in the lobby. It looks like a little village.”

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, staff members, spouses and children show up with the “goodies,” the accoutrements to give each house its own personal touch.

Each builder receives a basic Gingerbread House Kit from Costco, but over the years, the event has gained a good-natured competitive value.

“There’s been some whispering about some plans to have some real creative themes this year,” Sarrensen said. “People are allowed to bring their own decorations, but they won’t tell anybody what they’re bringing.”

To add to the friendly rivalry, prizes will be awarded in categories like “most collaborative effort” and “most original theme.”

“My favorite part is spying on people, and then I copy what they do,” joked Guest Services Manager Van Robinson, who will participate for the fourth year.

The houses have taken on unique characteristics in the past — sometimes intentionally, and sometimes by accident.

“One of the girls was working on a house that hadn’t hardened yet, and the roof collapsed” Sarrensen said. “She just kept building around it and called it the earthquake house.”

“One year, when we had a big windstorm, someone had a house with a tree collapsing onto it,” Dianna Varidy said.

Linda Groce said she and her husband find design inspirations by visiting old homesteads.

“We are real outdoors people,” she said. “Once we built a log cabin using cinnamon sticks and graham crackers for the roof. We used a lot of snow and had icicles dripping from the roof.”

“It was disgustingly cute,” Varidy added.

Alisa Kauppi said the staff’s children love to help decorate; her 8-year-old daughter gets involved each year.

“Seeing the kids work on the houses is exciting,” Kati Wright said. “It’s a different activity for them. When we make the houses, we have a real-beard Santa come in and we take pictures with him. We make it a real family event.”

Maria Vargas’ entire family comes up from Phoenix to help decorate.

When the culinary creations emerge and go on display, the silent bidding begins.

“The houses are numbered, so nobody knows who built them,” Fortier said. “Each house has a bid sheet. Some people really get into it — they come into the lobby after they’ve placed a bid, just to see if anyone has outbid them.”

The bidding closes the evening of Nov. 29, and the top bidders can take home their prizes. The houses will last through Christmas and can add a unique and old-fashioned touch to holiday décor.

Fortier said he chose the Children’s Home Society as the auction’s beneficiary because he wanted to find a link with an organization that specialized in family needs.

“We’re blessed with a lot of things that come from hotel employment,” he said. “And we realize there are people out there that are less fortunate.”

This holiday season, the amount of those less fortunate has grown due to the economic downturn, said Jud Morris, program manager for the Children’s Home Society.

“We have seen a 66 percent increase in the amount of people we serve compared to last year,” he said. “People are in great need — we see a lot of new people that are suffering, and those that were suffering before are suffering even more now. This money is very generous, and the patrons of the gingerbread auction are much appreciated.”

Gingerbread houses on display

The gingerbread houses made by the staff at the Inn at Gig Harbor will be on display at the hotel and restaurant from Nov. 23-29. The Inn at Gig Harbor is located at 3211 56th St. NW.

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator and reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.