The month of December is filled with festivities and traditions. At Freehold Township, one tradition has become a favorite of local elementary school kids and their families– the Gingerbread House Party.

On December 16th at 6pm, kids were invited to come to the cafeteria at FTHS. Once paying for admission, they were giving an empty and cleaned milk carton and a plate to go find a spot at a table, on which they found graham crackers, icing and TONS of candy for different artistic opportunities. Octagon volunteers were ready to help assemble and guide.  All of the children’s creativity came out through their decision making. Whether it be choosing what type of roof they want or what candy to use for a door, they were able to create their very on gingerbread house.

This event is much more than a day about gingerbread house making, though.  All of the proceeds go to Love, Annaleigh, a New Jersey nonprofit organization. Their mission is to support critically ill newborns and also provide guidance and comfort to their families at the same time. It was formed in 2012 in memory of Annaleigh DiGiuseppe, the daughter of FTHS English teacher, Mr. DiGiuseppe. She passed away in 2009 from complications caused by necrotizing enterocolitis after being born 15 weeks premature and spending two months in the NICU. Even though she didn’t spend a long time in the world, her name has and will always continue to leave a legacy and help others in similar situations.

This day is a lot of fun for even more reasons. The Art Club was on hand for face painting, and DJ Mr. Mehl provided music to keep the children busy. There was even a photo booth for the children to make their funniest and happiest faces in. Santa Claus even made an appearance all the way from the North Pole. He took pictures with all the children and found out what the children wanted for Christmas.

After the kids were done, they put their creations on a table with their name in different categories to compete with the other gingerbread houses. The categories were 5 and under, 6-8, 9-13 and 13+.. From there, the judges chose their favorites of the gingerbread houses from each category. All of the winners received their own prizes. Some of the prizes were a snowman decorating kit, a Buddy the Elf cup set, and a Play-Doh set.

The Patriot Press was lucky enough to get a few words with two very experienced gingerbread house constructors. We asked them both a few question about the holidays.

First, we talked with Evan. His favorite part of the holidays is that he gets to eat a lot of “good stuff.” This year, Evan is asking Santa for a toy car and a Star Wars toy. His favorite Star Wars character is Darth Vader and he can’t wait to see the new movie. We asked if this was his first time with the gingerbread houses, and he said no and that he has made a lot of them. He also admitted that he was “pretty much a professional.” He gave a little secret about his perfect gingerbread house making: use marshmallows.

Next, we got the opportunity to speak to Allison. She is so very excited for Christmas to go see her cousins in Staten Island. She is hoping that Santa will bring her a basketball hoop and leave it underneath her tree for Christmas morning. This also wasn’t her first time making a gingerbread house. She gave her secret to perfection as well. She loves to use marshmallows just like Evan.

If you couldn’t make it to this years event, we definitely suggest coming out next year. It’s a great tradition for a very special cause.