Students make home sweet homes

The Pit organized a mini Gingerbread House Building entertainment project Nov. 21 in the Student Center.

Students learned how to make gingerbread houses. They used bread pieces, crackers to put them together with royal icing. Afterward they sprinkled the houses with sugar confectioner’s powder, multicolored candies, pretzels, marshmallows and candy canes. More than 20 students attended this event.

“It is different from what we [the Pit stuff members] usually do,” said Jennie Robbins, senior of Mitchell. “We just started it last year, people enjoyed it.”

The Pit invited Tena Cook, college relations marketing coordinator, because she helped students keep the spirit of Christmas last year and instructed how to make gingerbread houses.

“She is very good at it,” Robbins said.

Cook brought photo albums containing her gingerbread houses images and cutout samples from magazines served as examples of how the houses could be built.

“Forty years ago I made my first three,” Cook said. “I went to a class when I was 12 with my mom, and we just decided that is what we wanted to do.”

Cook said it takes about six hours to build each house. It is her hobby. She made sleighs, train stations, and regular houses. Before big projects, which were different from the regular houses, Cook created the design of it. She makes about 10 houses every year and teaches others how to do it. All built houses are edible. She said the biggest project was a train station, which took about 12 hours to complete.

In addition to Christmas holidays, Cook also makes gingerbread houses at Valentine’s Day, Easter and Thanksgiving day. It is a tradition in her family.