Bethel Park Library ushers in holidays with gingerbread house workshop
Courtesy of Elaine Volpe
A gingerbread house covered in thick layers of icing and several trimmings, including Cheerios, stands proudly on a table inside Bethel Park Public Library. Workshop leader Elaine Volpe said kids – and parents! – snacked on gingerbread house decorations while crafting masterpieces at the Nov. 26 event.
Courtesy of Elaine Volpe
A group of gingerbread house decorators carefully adds icing and trimmings to their creations during a Nov. 26 workshop at Bethel Park Public Library.
Photos: Courtesy of Elaine Volpe
Kaylee Wrightson, 10, Ellie Wrightson, 6, and Kaitlyn Hemish-Swink, 10, get creative at Bethel Park Public Library’s annual gingerbread workshop Nov. 26. For more than two decades, kids of all ages have gathered at the library to craft gingerbread houses while talking with friends old and new.
Courtesy of Elaine Volpe
At the Bethel Park Public Library’s gingerbread house workshop, anything goes. Kids used icing, candies, sprinkles and cereals to craft magnificent gingerbread houses Nov. 26, and many enjoyed bites of their creations on the way out the door.
Courtesy of Elaine Volpe
A young creator opens a can of sprinkles to add the finishing touches to her gingerbread house, while another youngster smiles for the camera. Area youth spent Nov. 26 creating masterpieces at the Bethel Park Public Library, whose gingerbread workshop is for many a beloved holiday tradition.
Since its culinary debut in Greece more than 4,000 years ago, gingerbread, a slightly sweet, somewhat spiced baked good, has remained popular with foodies through the centuries.
Of course, that sweetened-with-molasses (or honey, corn syrup or treacle) treat has gone through countless iterations: In the 10th century, Chinese gingerbread recipes spread along the Silk Road, were adopted by Europeans during the Middle Ages and repurposed by German bakers in the 1800s, who expanded the treat’s possibilities by turning gingerbread into houses inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s fairytale “Hansel and Gretel.”
Those who attended the Bethel Park Public Library’s annual Gingerbread Workshop Nov. 26 needed no further inspiration than their own imaginations. Area kids and their parents gathered at the library to kick off Christmastime by decorating gingerbread houses.
“It’s a longstanding tradition,” said Elaine Volpe, head of the library’s youth services. “It’s a fun way to get into the holiday season. It’s festive, fun and free.”
Bethel Park Public Library has hosted a gingerbread house workshop annually for more than two decades; the event was already a beloved tradition when Volpe joined the library 18 years ago.
“We as a staff enjoy doing it. It’s messy, and fun, and I guess worth all the mess,” Volpe said. “I’ve read about libraries in different parts of the country that have a gingerbread workshop, they cut the gingerbreads. (The kids are) not really creating it and building it themselves. We don’t do anything. We put the cartons out, we provide the crackers and the can of icing at each table. Kids can kind of just go to town creating the house any way they please. We really just like to see the creative side of it.”
Creative, indeed, were the festive homes children decorated last weekend. The library provided Schneider’s Dairy drink cartons and graham crackers, and families were encouraged to bring one bag of candy, for sharing. Some families have the tradition down to a science and save Halloween candy specifically for gingerbread house decorating, while others come bearing house trimmings in the form of cereal, shredded coconut, old-timey candies or trendy sugar sweets.
Volpe said some house decorators crafted grand candy cane entrances, while others carefully constructed sidewalks made of Cheerios and erected Tootsie Roll chimneys.
“The possibilities are endless,” she said.
While some workshops demonstrate fancy icing work or decorating techniques, the Bethel library staff let kids do their thing, and are responsible solely for cleanup.
“There is no guidance whatsoever. It’s so neat to see the different houses when they’re done,” Volpe said. “They were all so wonderful.”
Kids are patient and diligent while decorating, taking the time to carefully place every piece of candy just-so on their gingerbread home. Parents enjoyed getting in on the action, too, said Volpe, making for a wonderfully festive day at the library.
“Kids honestly are extremely patient. They get into it and oftentimes it does take more than 15 or 20 minutes because they are paying attention to that detail. It’s a family event; the parents are having just as much fun,” she said.
While patient, kids can’t wait to take their creations home, where some will display the houses and others will devour their gingerbread masterpieces. Gingerbread houses are on display at the Bethel Park Community Center, but the library has never showcased the houses created during its annual workshop, simply because the kids are proud of their artwork.
“Many are being eaten on the way out,” laughed Volpe.
The decorating itself is joyful, she said, but that isn’t the best part of the annual workshop. For Volpe, watching the community come together ahead of the holiday season is heartwarming.
“So many families, they look forward to coming in and kicking off the holiday season with us. This is a holiday tradition. The camaraderie of it all: Families come with their families, extended, they might bring grandma and grandpa. Among the families, they’ll talk, making new friends. That’s rewarding. That’s what we’re all about,” Volpe said. “We are here for the community. We are a community gathering space. When that happens via programs, where you see families mingling with each other and laughing, that’s always such a great thing. Making connections and making new friends – that’s what it’s all about.”