The 8 Most Insta-Worthy Gingerbread House Displays in the United States
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It's the season of festivity, snow and beautiful gingerbread houses—but TBH, the gingerbread displays we make at home don't ever turn out as cute as we would have liked.
But if you want to see some really impressive gingerbread architecture, you're not at a complete loss. There are some gorgeous gingerbread houses all across the U.S. that'll make your Insta page that much more impressive. Here are eight of our favorites, and exactly where you can snap them.
Gingerbread Village at the Hotel Captain Cook
Location: Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska
This snowstorm-y gingerbread creation at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage gets its inspiration from its chilly Alaskan location. Created by chef Joe Hickel, it's the result of more than 100 hours of hard work (and the use of more than 550 pounds of sugar). That dedication shows in every detail. It only makes sense that this gingerbread village happens to be closer than any of the others on this list to the North Pole.
Grand Floridian Gingerbread House
Location: Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
Walt Disney World is one of the cheeriest places on earth during holiday season, and we weren't at all surprised to find out that the park is full of festive displays, including a massive gingerbread house. The Grand Floridian gingerbread house has been a staple there for two decades, and includes 20 different hidden Mickeys in its design.
Gingerbread Display at Fashion Island Hotel
Location: Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California
Every year, pastry chef Andy de la Cruz creates an impressive gingerbread display for the Fashion Island Hotel, and this year's is one of our favorites. This holiday's display was inspired by The Polar Express and even includes an enormous gingerbread model of the hotel.
Santa's Gingerbread Station
Location: Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri
Gingerbread villages can be nice to look at, but they're even more special when they feel like a fully operational place. Santa's Gingerbread Station at Crown Center in Kansas City does just that and manages to feel like a living, breathing version of the North Pole. It's a bustling city in gingerbread form.
Gingerbread Village at Sheraton Grand Seattle
Location: Sheraton Grand Seattle in Seattle, Washington
The annual Gingerbread Village at Sheraton Grand Seattle has been created every year for more than 25 years to benefit diabetes research, and each time it's a sight to behold. 2018's masterpiece was inspired by Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, including the Grinch's sleigh at the top of Mount Crumpet, leaving us wondering how the whole thing manages not to crumble apart.
The White House in Gingerbread
Location: The White House in Washington, D.C.
An official White House-shaped gingerbread structure has been a presidential tradition for nearly 50 years. It's been displayed in the White House State Dining Room every holiday season since Richard Nixon was president, and is a must-see part of the White House tour during December.
Gingerbread House at the Fairmont
Location: Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California
Who said gingerbread houses had to be in miniature? The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco goes all out every year by building a completely edible, life-sized gingerbread house, and it gets bigger and bigger each time they build it. This year's two-story house stands at 25 feet tall and is made up of more than 6,000 gingerbread bricks.
Gingerbread Lane
Location: The New York Hall of Sciences in Corona, New York
The New York Hall of Science's yearly Gingerbread Lane display features an entire town of decked out gingerbread houses. Chef Lon Jon Lovitch spends the entire year designing and crafting the display to be presented in December each year. It also happens to hold the Guinness World Record for largest gingerbread village.
Are you gingerbread-obsessed? HERE for the perfect Instagram captions for all of your holiday cookie posts.