Henry has been a judge for quite a few years now and as he gets older, he takes the job more and more seriously.  For the past couple of years, he has begged me for a ‘proper’ score card so he could judge more than just kids’ choice.  Instead, since I have so much trouble deciding which house should get what, I ask him to help with the deliberations.

The Boston Christmas Festival is a gigantic and varied artisan market at the Seaport World Trade Center.  It is a tradition for many that have been coming to the festival for years.  It opens midday on Friday for the weekend and the line flows out of the Seaport World Trade Center onto the sidewalk all the way past the building.  This is shopping local before #shoplocal was even a thing.

We love seeing who participates in the Gingerbread Competition each year and what new tricks they have up there sleeves. The Gingerbread houses are all available for sale this weekend to decorate your home or to be donated to a school, hospital or business of your choice. The proceeds of the sale go to support Housing Families, an organization that is working hard to end homelessness.

Participating in the competition this year were: Davio’s Lynnfield, Tupper Manor at the Wylie Inn and Conference Center, Harvest Restaurant & Grill 23, Treat Cupcake Bar, Del Frisco’s, teen pastry chef Brianna Ficaro, Katie Stotler (of Catalyst Café I believe), Karen and Paul of Southeastern Regional Culinary Arts, Cupcake City and Ginger Betty’s.

Here are the results of the 2017 competition:

• Best Decoration: Davio’s Lynnfield
• Most Creative: Treat Cupcake Bar
• Best Tasting: Brianna Ficaro
• Best in Show: Cupcake City
• Kids Choice:  Ginger Betty’s
• Honourable Mention: Harvest & Grill 23

Congratulations to all! Henry and I appreciated all the work that went into each entry and are always impressed with the creativity, talent and patience that it takes to make these Gingerbread structures.

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