At Wiscasset Community Center Friday night, Dec. 13, families decorated miniature home sweet homes for the holidays. Parks and Recreation Director Duane Goud made the gingerbread houses in the WCC that night.

Goud was quite skilled at handling a pastry bag brimming with sweet vanilla frosting. “It’s the frosting that holds the walls and roof of the gingerbread house together. See?” Squeezing the bag to form a line of frosting, he said: “It’s really not as hard as it looks.” Goud was putting the finishing touches to his 18th house of the evening.

The real fun begins when kids start to decorate them with lots of yummy treats: M & M’s, Skittles, and mini white marshmallows, too. There were also red and green gumdrops, cinnamon dots and candy canes. Vanilla frosting held the treats to the houses.

One group well represented at the decorating table was the Unsinkables, WCC’s swim team. Coach Nori and husband Alex Lund were having a go at decorating. Alex was applying a nifty checkerboard-like frosting pattern on his roof.  

Others around the table included Veronika Kopytnik of Newcastle and her friend Sophia Wright of Woolwich, both members of the swim team. The girls were decorating a house together taking turns adding frosting and colorful candies. They had agreed in advance, Sophia would take the finished gingerbread house home.

Also busy was Abby Blagdon of Wiscasset. She was applying a thick layer of frosting to the roof of her gingerbread house as her mother Michelle Blagdon looked on.

Goud hopes to make the fun-filled activity a Christmas tradition at the center. Participants reserve gingerbread houses in advance of the event held in the senior center meeting room.

All appeared to be enjoying themselves and in the holiday spirit even though it was raining, not snowing, outside. It was also Friday the 13th, but Goud had good luck making his gingerbread houses. They all held together!