Lauren Finkelstein ’08 (left) and Lily Ackerman ’08 (right), members of the winning Lewis House team, decorate their gingerbread house at the gingerbread house competition on Sunday. PHOTO/Michael Tsai ‘10

This past Saturday, December 1st, teams gathered in the freshman section of the Dining Hall and spectators watched from across the barrier as the first Choate gingerbread house competition was held. The large stop clock counted down the hours from 6 until 9. Originally, the maximum number of participating teams was three, but, unexpectedly, the interest in the competition grew and nine teams signed up. The nine teams were Squire Stanley, Memorial, Nichols, Library, Hall, McCook, East Cottage, Lewis, and Logan Munroe.

Each team was given the six pieces necessary to construct the house, four ice cream cones, icing, and a wide variety of candies and other sweets. The man in charge of this operation was Mr. Christian Bielizna. He said that he modeled this “Iron Chef-like” competition after a similar event that was performed at the school he formerly worked at. Bielizna claimed to have spent $225 on all the decorating sweets, enough to fill the trunk of his car.

Each team took a similar approach to constructing its house; everyone’s strategy essentially paralleled Mem House’s comment: “We need to work as a team, communicate, and act like the family we are.” Nichols House was at a disadvantage because they arrived ten minutes late, and they were disappointed to realize part way through that they mis-used the pieces and had a roof for walls and walls as the roof.

The judging criteria were divided into three categories: Overall Appearance (50%), Structure (20%), and Decoration (30%). Not only were the teams judged on the actual houses, but they were awarded points for the surrounding objects as well. For example, points were awarded for one of the most popular decorations: ice cream cone Christmas trees surrounding the houses. All nine teams were judged using these criteria. On Sunday, December 02, 2007, the results were released. Library came in third place, East Cottage came in second, and the first place winner of the first Choate gingerbread house competition was Lewis House. Squire Stanley and McCook received honorable mention. As their reward, Lewis House has received a pizza party for their dorm.