Long-time sukis of this blog know that gingerbread is a big deal in the Marketman household, and my first post on it was in December 2005, here. In retrospect, that post said a lot about why gingerbread is a tradition in our home, and it is worth the read or re-read if you have the time. That was a particularly good Christmas after a tough year of ups and downs and a lot of heart went into writing it. That initial post on gingerbread, turned into a post on the recipe in June 2006, for the benefit of a reader with a cancer-stricken son, here. In December 2006, I did a several part series on making gingerbread, not just the recipe, but describing the method here, then part two, here. I posted about the candy and sweets we use to decorate our homes, and even show you a short-cut way to a house made with pretzels and cereal. I did a post on the 2006 Edition of our Gingerbread House, a scene from a small town in New England. And a tear-jerking episode for many readers where I located “David,” the kid with cancer, and delivered a house for him… In addition, not documented on this blog are huge creations auctioned off for charity, dozens of homes made with elementary kids at a school Mrs. MM and I helped set up, then the donations of those homes to dozens of children’s charities and hospital wards. I haven’t posted about my crew who know the drill so well by now they can make my gingerbread bases out of styrofoam more accurately than most contractors, nor post about the pain killers consumed after all the back-breaking rolling of dough. My crew’s kids have each had a gingerbread home in their own homes as their fathers and mothers have made theirs alongside us and well, you can see there is history and depth to this tradition in our home. We look forward to it and it binds us around the Christmas holidays…
The fragrance given off by a large gingerbread house, combined with fresh pine (if possible) and some indoor holiday candles is ingrained in our brains and it will trigger fine holiday memories until I become worm food. After 12 years of taking the lead on most of these creations, this was the FIRST YEAR that The Kid decorated the home COMPLETELY on her own or with a friend. Her design, her icing, her placement of candy, which surprisingly was rather sparse and minimalist, actually. I made the gingerbread and the setting to her specific design… it is supposed to be a scene from Amsterdam, with canals, small townhouses, bridges, sidewalks, a church, covered alleyways, etc. I think it turned out brilliantly. We used some of our ceramic figurines as well, as we do every year to bring some more detail to the scene. The windows of the church are made of little cuts of cellophane sandwiched between clear cellophane that the kid made… they didn’t photograph well but they look stunning up close. The whole scene is wired so it can be lit up, including two old fashioned street lamps… But let me stop typing and just post the daytime and nighttime photos. From the Marketman & Family Household and all of our wonderful crew, we wish you all a Wonderful Christmas and a Peaceful New Year!!! Thank you for continuing to visit marketmanila.com and for all of your insightful comments and tips on food and wonderful help on the charitable causes we have pursued this year… Maraming Salamat!
Roof top views…
A clam shack (in Amsterdam???)… think of at as a Herring Shack, and use your imagination…
One of two bridges, and a tourist glass roof boat made by the kid…
9 or 10 townhouses total plus a church…
A bike left casually on the snow (they bike everywhere in Amsterdam…)
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, CHEERS!!!
59 Responses
Very impressive work of your young girl from designing to execution and finishing it off. All I can say hah, hah amazing, beautiful, heart and breath stopper and fabulous! Genetic pool plays a major role. Way to go The Kid! Go Girl Go Girl!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!!! Thanks for ALL your wonderful posts… God bless!
Merry Christmas to MM and family, and to his crew as well!
Merry Christmas to everybody who continues to visit this site the same that I do! I wish you all blessings this coming year.
A blessed merry Christmas to you and your family! Looking forward to more posts, more contests, and more charitable projects in the next year! More power to you :)
Hillary said… it takes a village to raise a child. Here i say it took a KID to make a village ( a gingerbread village ).
Very impressive indeed. Kudos to the Kid for such a beautiful creation. The apple did not fall far from the tree..hehe.
Wow, I’m really really impressed.. Thank you for sharing this with us.. Happy Holidays to you too! :)
my! my! the apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree! it must make you proud to see her WORK OF ART come to life.
i cant wait for her to discover MORE hidden talents, knowing how supportive you & mrs. mm are!
a blessed christmas & a peaceful new year to you and your family, & all your readers too!
ps: this may sound like a silly question, but, how do you keep the rodents, ants, & roaches away– before, during & after the completion of the masterpiece? ü
A Merry, Merry Christmas to All your artistic MM family (staff and crew’s families, as well!) Thank you for the feel-good activities you always have! God Always Bless and Keep you All in good spirits!
Well done, KID!….very well done!!!! It’s a shame that your gingerbread creation cannot be seen by everyone on national television…How I wish there could have been a way for it to be seen and appreciated by millions of Filipinos back home without having to reveal the identity of your dad! …Anyway, I think you have a budding ARCHITECT there, MM! Season’s Greetings to you , your family, crew and to everyone ! May the coming year bring GOOD HEALTH, GOOD FORTUNE and continued success in all your endeavors!…Boy, I sound like Chinese Hallmark, don’t I ?…hehehe
Kudos to the Kid and you and your crew for that awesome creation! Merry Christmas MM, Mrs. MM, kid and crew as well as to all the readers. Peace and good will to all!
P.S. I love those stained glass windows – brilliant idea!
very very impressive!! what a beautiful gingerbread house, and the details are amazing. That’s one talented kid you’ve got! A happy christmas to you and your family MM =)
happy holidays mm, mrs mm and the kid! more power and God bless to all!
definitely better than the lighted ceramic christmas villages. . . and i’m sure it’s fun doing it with the kid too. . .
This is just so WOW!!! Grabe, ang galing!
First time I’ve seen a gingerbread house (or village) this detailed.
Merry Christmas to you MM, Mrs.MM and the Kid.
Thanks so much MM for this blog. This had been my “de-stressing” routine for the past few weeks.
May God bless you even more in the coming new year!
Tricia :)
WOw the best Gingerbread House creation I’ve ever seen. My small gingerbread house seems like a cottage now. haha. Great work. Merry Christmas to your family too.
What can I say? I’m so impressed!! Way to go, Kid! Of course, MM and Mrs. MM must be overflowing with pride, as they should. A blessed Christmas to you and your family, MM, as well as your ever-faithful crew and readers. Looking forward to hundreds more interesting blog entries in the future. You make even the really difficult tasks seem so doable. One of these days, I’ll really be inspired to make something from scratch, a la MM. :)
Galing! Well, we know where The Kid got her talents from! :-)
That’s a clever and easy way to simulate stained glass. I thought at first that you had melted diff. colors of candy together then let them harden.
I wish you and your family the merriest of Christmases, Marketman! You all absolutely deserve it — you, Mrs. MM and The Kid embody the true spirit of the season more than most people I know.
Merry Christmas too MM and family! I am happy to have finally met you and your wife. May you continue to bring good cheers to people all over the world through your blog. Thanks for a wonderful 2007, I truly enjoyed reading all of your write-ups.
Peace & Joy, God’s graces to you & family, MM.
Beautiful gingerbread town! She’s highly creative and super patient. :D Happy Holidays!
The gingerbread creations seem to be getting better every year ! All the blessings of the season to you, your family and crew.
Merry, merry Christmas, Marketman, Mrs. Marketman, and the Kid! And to your crew, too. Thanks for the happy and inspiring reads.
Ang galing! Merry Christmas!
Wow!!!Amazing work!!Truly a labor of love. Thank you for sharing it with us…Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!
love it, love it, especially the “stained glass” windows. may we have a close-up shot of those, MM? Merry Christmas to the Martketman Family!
Stunning, simply stunning! Love the many different scenes she created around the village… santa on the rooftop! The round stained glass window reminds me of a rosette window. Everywhere one looks there is some activity going on, one can feel the buzz around the village, as one would during this season. Congratulations to the Kid, you are so creative and this is deserves a gold trophy!
From our family to yours, have a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year!
Your gingerbread house looks wonderful! I just finished baking the pieces for our gingerbread house and will be assembling it this weekend. Ours is just a small cottage. Thanks for sharing this…
Merry Christmas to you and yours MM!
May you have a blessed year in 2008!
Happy Holidays MM, Mrs. MM & The Kid! Her first gingerbread house definitely is a winner. I like the snow flecked trees and the bike in the ‘snow’…the candies decked on the walls are minimal, it’s simple but VERY NICE! The Kid has talent!
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all in the MarketManila Family!!
Hello Kid, you’ve done a really very very GREAT job…Mr & Mrs MM is a sure winner too and also the crew….Merry Christmas to all MarketManila family!!!
well done and Kudos to The Kid. She is very artistic just like the parents. I like the bike very much. Merry Christmas and a Spirit filled New Year to MM family.
Merry Christmas to you, Mrs. MM,The Kid and the rest of your crew. May you continue to bring joy and happiness not only to us, but to those children who need them most.
Have a wonderful year! God Bless….
Beautiful! Happy Holidays to you and yours! :)
amazing gingerbreads for christmas, thanks for sharing.
To Marketman and family, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
I’m a civil engr and I build real buildings, real bridges and real roads but I haven’t done a gingerbread house and I salute the Kid for being able to make this gingerbread creation.
Silly question… do you eat the gingerbread house or it’s there for decoration?
Very pretty! Love how she even put in the hook hoists near the roof that are found in most Amsterdam townhomes! Merry Christmas to you and yours, and to all MM readers!
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Marketman!!!
Nice community! Merry Christmas Marketman and family!
Wow! I love the stained glass windows. She really takes after you! Wish I could be part of your crew so I can have my own gingerbread house :)
Merry X’mas to you and your family.
merry christmas!
this is my first time to write you after about six months since my daughter introduced your blog to me.sorry for not thanking you for so long. my day’s not complete without me opening your blog. sometimes i copied some of your recipes in my diary of favorite foods which includes my mother’s. you have been a great influence in my cooking, the tips you give, the places, the markets you’ve been to. i’m just a typical mom who had never been to places you described, who haven’t tasted some of the foods you cooked, and while reading your blog it seems narating ko na, at natikman ko na ang mga foods na ito. it’s really a great pleasure to be one of your reader. i always look forward to opening your blog everyday.my family said i am a great fan of yours.
May the Lord bless you and your family with more!!
have a blessed and happy holidays–do continue to bring joy to our lives.good health please.
the results are of course impressive but more than that, the journey itself –the sentiments , the creativity generated, the community of spirit — are priceless.
what a beautiful tradition!
a heartfelt thank you to you MM for sharing your many passions with your readers. happy holidays and all good wishes for an exciting, joyful, peaceful—simply great 2008 to you, your family and crew.
Happy Holidays to you & your family Marketman :) Happy Holidays to all the readers too!
Happy Holidays to MM, Mrs. MM, The Kid, Sister, MM’s Crews and my fellow MM aficiados! My special greetings goes to ARIDELROS – Happy Holidays and Best Wishes to you!
Hi, Marketman.
I would like to thank you for your blog. Though I have yet to try any of your mouthwatering recipes, it warms my heart that somewhere out there is you, with your whole family, who has warm, good hearts. Thank you! I think I will try to “cook” the biko. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and to your family.
Greetings from Auckland, New Zealand
Wishing you and your family a season filled with beautiful moments and cherised memories…….
Maligayang Pasko MM, Mrs.M and the Kid!!!!!!!!!!!!
malipayon nga paskua sa imo kag sa tanan nga nagabasa sang marketmanila!
Merry Christmas, Marketman! God bless you and your family.
Nice job, Kid! Merry Christmas Marketman, Mrs. M and the Kid. And Merry Christmas to all here. :D
What a very fine creation! I love the fact that she created a whole village complete with stores, a church, a parkette and bridges too! I’m sure you’re all very proud of her and I can’t wait to show this to my 5-yr old daughter, she’ll be delighted to see this! She’s got talent just like you MarketMan.
To MarketMan, your family, to your crew and to all MarketManila.com readers Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Great Photos, Great Creations, and how wonderful that you, Mrs. MM, The Kid, and your crew “constructed” all these houses to be given away in keeping with the Christmas Spirit! I’m sure God is keeping score somewhere!
Merry Christmas to Everybody!! Wish you all the best for the season!!
Amazing! I not only admire The Kid’s creativity but her discipline and perseverance accomplishing something so grand. Well done and Merry Christmas!
Very beautiful and creative!!! I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year!
Kudos to the kid! All the elements work very well together. Very appealing indeed. Merry Christmas, y’all!
it looked like a work of a professional. The Kid really has potential. Im impressed! Galing naman.
simply awesome!
More than the sight and smell of your wonderful gingerbread creations, this tradition that you have started in your family is most laudable not only for the cache of good memories created but for the goodwill that you spread to others like the children in the schools and orphanages. May you always be blessed to ever widen the reach of the goodwill you spread. Happy new year!
Great masterpiece,,,Merry Christmas MM, you are an inspiration to all of us who read your blog. Thank you!