New Contest

Making a Gingerbread HouseGingerbread House Party

Show us your homes sweet homes!

There’s nothing like a gingerbread house for the holidays. Excitement’s building for Country Woman’s first-ever Gingerbread House Party Contest. Enter and you could win $500 and see your handiwork in CW.

Your all-edible structure must include at least some gingerbread. When it’s finished, snap a photo—or several, if your architecture’s best viewed from various angles—to send us. Appearance, design and creativity are key ingredients in this contest. We’ll rate decor over tastiness.

The Best in Show winner, as determined by our judges, will receive $500 cash. We’ll award $300 for first place and $200 for second place in each of these two categories:

Traditional Design

A Christmas-themed gingerbread house, chalet or cottage.

Nontraditional Design

An unusual structure—think barn, carousel or spaceship—or a decorating theme other than Christmas.
Along with your photos, send a list of materials, directions, and the name of any kits or patterns you may have used. Also note what inspired the gingerbread house of your dreams.

Entry deadline is February 1, 2009.

Contest Rules

  1. This contest is open to anyone, with no purchase necessary.
  2. Gingerbread houses, of any size, must be created by you and photographed against a plain background. Mail color prints (not from inkjet printers) that are 5 X 7 inches or larger. Or E-mail us high-resolution .jpg files from a 5-megapixel or better camera—they must be at least 1,500 X 2,100 megapixels, or 5 X 7 inches at 300 dots per inch.
  3. Each house entered must include your name, street address, daytime phone number and E-mail address (if applicable), and a list of materials (including kits and patterns, if used) and directions, all printed on a separate sheet of paper. If E-mailing, please send a separate E-mail for each entry.
  4. Mailed entries must be postmarked and E-mailed entries received by February 1, 2009. Send to “Gingerbread House Party,” Country Woman, 5400 S. 60th St., Greendale WI 53129. E-mail, using subject line “Gingerbread House Party,” to editors@countrywomanmagazine.com.
  5. The CW staff, assisted by Test Kitchen or Cooking School representatives, will determine the Best in Show winner, two category winners and two runners-up based on overall design and appearance (30%), appeal to CW readers (30%), technical quality of the image (30%) and creativity in design (10%).
  6. Five winners will receive prizes as detailed above. Their entries will be featured in the December/January 2010 issue.
  7. All entries become property of Reiman Media Group and cannot be returned. By submitting an entry, you grant Reiman Media Group, Inc., its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners and licensees use of the material, including your name, town and state. We reserve the right to modify, reproduce and distribute material in any medium and in any manner or appropriate place. We may contact you by phone, E-mail or mail regarding your entry.
  8. Contest is governed by laws of the USA. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited. Total number of entries expected: 300-400.