Themes are where it's at!  For this year, we all created PHOBIA FALLS.  All houses made had to fit in *somehow* in Phobia Falls. It could be a skyscraper on Acrophobia Avenue. It could be a graveyard from Thanatophobia Terrace. Heck, it could even be the Little Rascals clubhouse from Parthenophobia Place (see http://www.phobialist.com/#P-).  Our friends are the most creative of people, and everyone had a uniquely cool idea for a phobia.

And, (although we don't have pictures from the first couple of years), we realized this is our 10th year of doing gingerbread houses -- how cool is that!!!

The Fear of Everyting (pantophobia).  Of all the gingerbread houses around this year, this one's the "Charlie Browniest."  Erica Cleary recreated that memorable scene from a beloved holiday special ("Best Homage to a Cartoonist who is No Longer Working") where Lucy diagnoses Charlie Brown's ailment  A bench is constructed from pretzel sticks and gingerbread, while a minimal approach to color helps the scene stand out.  This fear was deemed "Scariest Phobia", owing to its inherent fear of, well, everything.

The Fear of Being Committed to the Nuthouse.  Gabe and Sarah Morgan use slivered and whole almonds ("Most Inspirational Constipational House") to good effect in their colorful creation.  On first glance it appears as a traditional home, with a beautiful sea of green out front  ("Most Likely to be Found in Santa's Village").  But, on closer viewing, the black bars on the windows and interspersing of marshmallows along the roofline (indicative of the (unseen) marshmallows padding the walls and floors inside) indicate a worth recipient of "Most Imaginative."

The Fear of Being Chased by Timber Wolves Around a Kitchen Table Whilst Wearing Socks on a Newly-Polished Floor (luposlipophobia). In another nod to the comics ("Best Riff on a Cartoon"), Amy Trimmer presents both plastic toy wolves ("Furriest") and gingerbread folks in bright socks on a slick floor ("Least Treatable Fear").  Candies along the roof complement the colors used below, unifying the presentation of "House Representing the Fear that is Most Irrational."

  The Fear of Leftovers.  An old dinner plate is used by Laura Duggan and Graham Thomas to make the "Most Disgusting" house this year. Scouring through candies and decorations from previous years, Laura and Graham hit the bottom of the barrel, literally, to come up with the oldest of the old.  Soft and stale cereal shingles the roof, while flabby cookies provide siding ("Chewiest").  Cinnamon candies from perhaps our very first year, having absorbed moisture and fused into a solid brick, form the chimney ("Least Likely to be Eaten for Dinner in an Emergency").  Such a recycled home was a shoo-in for "Most Likely to be Invaded by White Trash."

  The Fear of Colors (chromatophobia).  Marcia Crump, in her premiere appearance ("Rookie of the Year"), frightens the tall goth lass in the back with her worst fear.  Bright colored icing lines the house, windows, and door, while colored candies contrast the frosted roof ("Most Coverage of Visible Spectrum").  Parallel rows of foil-covered chocolates and jelly beans ("Best Lines") lead your eye into the home and its yard, while two gummi Grateful Dead bears watch from the roof.  This beautiful home is exceedingly valuable, garnering a "House Which Would go for the Highest Price in Today's Market" award.

The Fear of Ants (myrmecophobia).  What from one side looks like a tasty red-and-white colored house roofed in sweet hard candies ("Highest Sucrose Content") is revealed from the other side to house a huge foil anthill whose inhabitants are swarming up the sides and onto the roof ("Most Likely to Make You Run Screaming").  Plastic ants ("Most Likely to Make Your Skin Crawl") have cornered the poor homeowner, confirming the appropriateness of awarding Mike Dashow's creation the "Most in Need of Insecticide" award.

The Fear of Earthquakes.  Scott Pullman and Erin Peltzman have made something we can all relate to ("Most Related to Your Actual Real Life Fears") -- the front shows a decrepit house draped in warning tape ("Most Likely to be Red-Tagged"), and the aftereffects of the earthquake are seen in their full magnitude from behind.  Gingerbread has crumbled on the outside and the inside is demolished ("Eric Brooks Memorial Award for Biggest Waste of Adam & Erica's Time Toiling Over a Hot Stove to Make These Lovely Gingerbread Pieces, Only to See Them Cruelly Destroyed").  A resident is crushed, while the unseen exposed wiring and gas lines qualify the home for the "Jay Lorch Memorial Award for Most Flammable."

The Fear of Commitment.  Thinned-down icing is used to create colorful painting ("Best Use of Frosting") for my fearful phobia. While one side denotes the carefree single life of motorcycle riding in the desert, dancing in the disco, and beer consumption, the other ("Most Bipolar") shows kids, cranky wives, and the rising costs of college education.

Erica uses pretzel stick supports to attach her sign.

Gabe and Sarah begin making the floor of the Nuthouse extremely puffy.

Graham and Laura, attaching the (blech!) chimney.

Marcia outfits her goth gal.

Mike, hard at work constructing.

Amy lets her floor and house sides dry, while Erin prepares for construction.

Still not enough?

Have you seen any good gingerbread houses on the net? Let me know and I'll post a picture here for all to see.

Last updated: Sunday, December 30, 2007