Michelle Joines has made gingerbread houses every year with leftover Halloween candy. Her small house creations have appeared all over town. Last year her creation appeared on Main Street at the Dixie Watercolors Gallery. The year before that it was at a children's clothing store and their was a competition to guess how many pieces of candy made up the gingerbread house. Fun times. This year it will be displayed at Bank of Utah Home Loans on St George Blvd starting Monday, Nov 30 - through Friday, Dec 11 (because they are only open weekdays). Come see it before it's too late - and vote for it... maybe even guess how many pieces of candy are on it! When one thinks about the Spirit of Christmas - it's like a phrase that makes one recall giving, maybe angels - love. And that's what I think of when I think of Michelle. She is one of the best friends a person can have. Very thoughtful - concerned - and the type of person that brings people together - brings friendships toget...

Kari Bryan - photo courtesy  Cake Couture Utah Kari Bryan of Cake Couture Utah has her gingerbread house on display starting today at Premier Dental. It will be on display until Friday, December 11th. Come in and vote for it for a chance to win prizes from Premier Dental! To introduce Kari, she first started making cakes 14 years ago and is mostly self taught. She finds so much joy in creating something beautiful and delicious. Some fun facts about Kari: •she moved to St George in January after living in Utah County for 15.5 years. •she has 4 sons who are so much fun, and stress, but mostly awesome. •she works out of her home in a dedicated studio space that is her happy place. •she loves cats and might turn into a crazy cat lady one day😻. •she ran her cake business for several years until one day 5 years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had to take a break so she could take care of herself and her family but she is excited to have found her way back to baking and cr...

Heidi Orr and Team are the cooking staff over at the Beehive Cottages (Tonaquint Area) and they have graciously agreed to volunteer and bake and decorate a gingerbread scene for the St George Gingerbread Parade this year. Their gingerbread "house" will be on display at participating business Dixie Rocks and Fossils and the only thing I have heard about this scene is that they came up with a prehistoric themed sort of Fred Flintstone type gingerbread design so that it would lovingly match with the host business location. I for one am excited to see what they came up with. It will be on display at the store, starting tomorrow - Monday, November 30th and remain on display through Saturday, December 12th. Here is a snapshot of a beehive they made last year - keep in mind, that their original house they designed last year collapsed and this is what they quickly pulled together last minute. If this is how good they work together last minute, then just imagine how great they are whe...

Kim Ettinger Did you know that not all volunteer bakers reach out to me? Sometimes I just poach 'em. Ha ha - just kidding, but I came across Crumbs.byKim on Instagram and invited her to participate and luckily, she said yes! Kim has  been baking since she was a kid and started cake decorating in 2011.  She likes to bake all sorts of things but has a passion for cakes. The cakes really are fun to look at. I have posted a few of them here but you really ought to look through her instagram feed and see them all - I love the "hairy" cake - it's like a colorful McFry kid aka those goblins that stole all the fries from the 80's commercials - yes, I am really proving my age here.   Kim will have her gingerbread house on display at Hurst Ace Hardware beginning Monday, November 30th and it will remain on display until Saturday, December 12th. Come in during the two week period to see it and vote for it for a chance to win store prizes! All photos property of Crumbs.byKi...

The first graham cracker house Caitlin and Suzanne will have their gingerbread house on display at Tifiny's Creperie. It will be on display from Monday, Nov 30 - Saturday, Dec 12th. Be sure and see it, vote for it and support local. Caitlin says: when I was little, my mom would make the most amazing birthday cakes and I started making cakes and desserts when I was in high school.  I took one Wilton cake decorating class but other than that I am YouTube taught.  "A favorite Christmas memory from my childhood in northern Utah was going to the large mall in Salt Lake City where during the Christmas season there would be elaborate displays made of candy in the store windows. I think that inspired my love of gingerbread houses,  and they have been a favorite part of Christmas celebrations as an adult.  "For the first time [two years ago] I donated a couple of (graham cracker) gingerbread houses to Intermountain healthcare’s Jubilee of trees and I am looking forward to th...

Photo courtesy: Cookies by Annie Annie Hatch reached out to me very early to participate in this year's St George Gingerbread Parade. In fact, I think she reached out to me last year. She has been baking for a long time and professionally has a small business called Cookies by Annie .  In addition to baking she is a mom to two sassy girls and does childcare.  Her gingerbread house will be on display at one of the original downtown retailers that has participated in the Gingerbread Tour since it's inception - Main Street Antiques . It will be on display starting Monday, November 30 through Saturday, December 12th. Bring all your little ones to see all the gingerbread houses - and when they collect a stamp at each location, they can turn in their completed stamp card at the Holiday Market (Dec 12th, 1:00-4:00 pm) Ancestor Square for a free Kid friendly prize package! We are all really excited to see what Annie creates for this event. Come on out and see it - and vote for it for ...

Photo courtesy Dulcet Cake Co Chelsea Hardy who owns Dulcet Cake Co will be making a gingerbread house to be displayed for the second year in a row at the St George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. The gingerbread house will be on display between Monday, November 30th to Saturday, December 12th. Come have a look at it, vote for it and get your stamp on your stamp card.* Last year her amazing Harry Potter themed gingerbread castle won the category of best constructed in our friendly little competition portion of the St George Gingerbread Parade. Chelsea has a background in architecture so it's no surprise. The secret to the perfectly cut lines was to bake the gingerbread cookie in large flat pieces first and then to have the shapes cut by laser. This wasn't a cheap process, by the way - but it can be done. Here are some of last year's pictures of the gingerbread castle - and there was even video of it being made - check out her  YouTube channel to view. Very cool....

Photo credit: Kris Archer Kris Archer reached out to me to not only bake and decorate a gingerbread house for this event, yet also offered her employer to sponsor the event as well. Her gingerbread house will be on display at the St George Children's Museum starting Monday, November 30 - Saturday, December 12th. Be sure and visit during opening hours to see the gingerbread house and vote for it for a chance to win prizes!  Kris Archer works as an Admissions/Marketing Director at Ashcreek Academy . She has baked since she was a small child with her mom, who taught her a love of nurturing relationships through baked goods.   Kris loves all things creative and baking was always one of those things.  Kris enjoys doing photography and has a business she has done on the side since 2005, Belle La Vie in Southern Utah. She loves the outdoors (water of any kind), traveling and seeing new things; but most of all being with her husband, three daughters, and three dogs. Below fi...

Photo credit: my own. I eat there regularly because it's so yummy! Waffle Love 231 Red Cliffs Drive #102 St George, UT 84790 Hours: Mon - Thurs 9am - 9pm;             Fri - Sat 9am - 10pm This is the first year that Waffle Love will participate in the St George Gingerbread House Parade. They will create their own gingerbread house for the display. Come in and vote for it between Monday, November 30th - Saturday December 12th.  And, don't forget to order yourself a yummy waffle while you're there. I will recommend my favorite now and it is the grilled cheese sandwich - yes it's made in the waffle and it's delicious! And the grilled cheese comes with a side of tomato bisque and it's the best tomato soup you ever had - in my humble opinion.  Then if you have any room left for a sweet treat, I recommend the Dulce de Liege waffle which is a cinnamon and sugar waffle topped with a "fried" ice cream and drizzled with dulce de leche caramel.  You are...