Battle: Gingerbread

This year for the Stephens family Christmas and New Year celebration Sue suggested a new activity...Stephens Family Gingerbread House Throwdown! We suggested a battle of couples for a four way battle royale but we weren't sure the others were too in to the idea. Come to find out the other teams had been preparing by thinking of appropriate secret supplies and apparently watching hours upon hours of the food network. It was clear that Jackie was looking to make a quick impact on the family festivities. Come New Year's Eve the battle lines were redrawn as it came down to the men vs. the women. Each team had a Gingerbread House starter kit to begin with. Additionally the women had creative talent, better supplies, more experience and judges from Andrea's family. It wasn't looking good for the men. Some might liken it to David vs. Goliath or Appalachian State vs. Michigan. Fortunately, as in those battles, the men had God and pure heart on their sides (and no this is not biased, simply setting the scene).



The women worked in the kitchen and dining room while the men were relegated to the basement, where Grandpa Stephens quickly found a football game on and the smallest Stephens male (Duke the dog) would not come down the stairs. Meanwhile both Sue and I were held out from the early going while giving Savannah her bath and putting her to bed. But the activities must carry on.



The men and women both worked on their houses with great gusto, with the work being done in seclusion from each other. The men were known to be working from a log cabin theme inspired by Grandpa's retirement dream home. The women's focus was a not as widely known. What was known was they had creative trees and a doghouse going. The trees proved to be a constant worry to Jim who continued to hand smash marshmallows together seeking to find a workable tree structure (which never happened). Dave worked on the animal corral again inspired by Grandpa's repeated promises to Savannah of a small menagerie.

The Ladies' Gingerbread House

The Men's Gingerbread House

At first sighting it seems both teams were impressed by the others craftsmanship. However it would be a little dishonest to say that the men were completely confident. The ladies' house was very crisp and clean with fine detail work (Notice the "snow" on the Golden Graham roof and the "yellow snow" behind the dog house. What the men's house lacked in clean lines and pine trees it made up for in overarching theme and classic gingerbread styling. When all was said and done the results were sent off before the New Year though it would be 2008 before the results were official. With much anticipation (and everyone waiting to go to bed) the results from the Pershing Panel were in. And the winner of the "First Official Stephens Family Christmas and/or New Year Gingerbread House Throwdown-Battle Royale" would be.......

THE STEPHENS MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Judges results had indicated they preferred the classic gingerbread styling while appreciating the whimsy of the fish pond (apparently they missed the yellow snow). And while the second guessing, surprise, and "could-have-beens" will last through 2008 the final word from here is that it was a contest of great fun that showed the creative side of the Stephens family that not everyone knew existed. Happy New Year indeed.