Staff writer
When Kim Woods accompanied her then first-grade son Jake on a field trip where they made and decorated graham cracker houses, she couldn’t have predicted what it would lead to.
A few years later, the Woods and Strunk families, both of Wichita, would earn the title “best in show” at a charity gingerbread house decorating contest.
On Sunday, the families demonstrated decorating a gingerbread house at Valley United Methodist Church, Marion, while visitors tried their skill building and decorating houses made of graham crackers. The event raised money for a digital camera for Stepping Stones Preschool at the church. About 40, $5 kits were sold.
The Strunks and Woods are Stepping Stones director Patty Putter’s cousins, and she invited them to give the demonstration. It was a welcome opportunity, because the families had to miss their annual competition in Wichita, Kim Woods said.
While taking breaks from making their own graham cracker houses, children and parents marveled at the Woods and Strunks’ design. Buford Woods said the design was similar to one the families had made before, but it was scaled down because of time constraints.
He said he and Joe Strunk were skeptical that the activity would be fun, but they soon found themselves paying meticulous attention to detail. Buford, Kim, Bailey, Avery, Jake, and Crosby Woods and Joe, Carri, Kaelyn, and Colten Strunk work together on the creations.
At competitions, gingerbread houses are judged on creativity, difficulty, and detail, Kim Woods said.
Everything on their house Sunday was edible, from the hard candy windows and the chocolate wafer shingles to the shredded coconut and powdered sugar snow. They use “royal icing” as a glue; it is made from sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar.
“Not eating the decorations is the real challenge,” she said.
The families have refined their technique with some research, but more trial and error. Buford Woods said it took a few tries to bake the gingerbread the right thickness so it doesn’t sag. If it is too thick, it keeps too much moisture.
Making and decorating gingerbread houses is a fairly easy activity for families to pick up, he said, but it can be a little expensive for families that want to go all-out on the decorations. Having a plan is the most important factor in success, he said.