Moments before our big dinner on December 24th (Ava wearing a dress I wore when I was 4). The “Empty Present” between the candles is a tradition I started a few years ago, where we pass the empty gift to each other while stating what gift for the heart we are offering to each person – a promise for the year to come.

Ho, ho, ho! The time has finally come! We’re beyond excited to announce the winners of this year’s Gingerbread for Peace Competition. Every year I love looking at your beautiful creations. You and your power over icing never cease to amaze me… which is why, if it were up to me, you’d all win.

Truly, truly. And that, my friends, is why I enlist the help of an amazing panel of judges.

With that said, I’d like to thank our sweet judges, who have the tough (impossible!) job of rating the contestants on the following criteria:

– Overall design
– Creativity
– Difficulty & Technique
– Neatness  & Precision
– Adherence to theme of Gingerbread for Peace and Globally inspired structure
– How much does the essay relate to the theme..

So THANK YOU to Jenny Buccos from ProjectExplorer.org for who is a powerhouse of energy, bringing the world into the heart of the classroom. Her virtual field trips make it possible for children to not just “see” the world, but to learn about it in the context of math, physics and more. And THANK YOU to Karen Coates from Rambling Spoon, whose amazing blog makes me hungry on a regular basis – especially when she’s off on one of her many trips. And, finally, THANK YOU to Audrey and Dan from Uncornered Market  a couple who have spent the last six years on the road… and have a blog full of funny, heartwarming stories.

And now, without further ado… I give you the winners…

READER’s CHOICE AWARD

This winner was voted by you, the readers, and will receive a one-year gift subscription to AFAR Magazine, courtesy of AFAR.

This one’s a little tricky… it has to be the highest rated (so the highest stars) with the most votes. This goes to the Giraffe House, which received the high rating of 4.6 stars as voted by 59 people at the close of the contest.

Congratulations!

SECOND PRIZE & BEST IN TULSA

The second prize winner happens to also be from Tulsa, so these lucky contestants won two prizes!

Read their essay, which explains the peaceful message behind their house:

Zarrow International is a bilingual school teaching Spanish and English. We chose 4 different houses from Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba and Peru because we have teachers at our school that are from all of these countries. These countries have different cultures and although the teachers are different, we all come together as one Hispanic culture. Our Hispanic communities make us a global community because we don’t’ think that everyone in the world has the same culture and they all speak English. It shows that we can stand together, work together and live together. Our gingerbread house promotes world peace because we’re trying to learn about these countries and accept that they’re different, but stand together as one. This helps us form a better community and world, because we can understand another language and understand other cultures. We can make a difference and include peace. We can make friends all over the world. We truly are, “One World Hand-in Hand!”

They’ll win a hand painted Tagine from Tunisia! Awesome!

GRAND PRIZE

The winning Gingerbread is quite the work of art… and it’s upside down!

Read the entrant’s fascinating essay:

When I originally looked for inspiration for this project my plan was to find a Polish cottage and replicate it as a fun way to learn more about my heritage. However, when I found the Upside Down house by Daniel Czapiewski I was won over by the message of the house/ artistic exhibit in Szymbark, Poland. The Upside Down House was designed to be a reminder of the need to pay attention as the world changes around you because if you don’t one day you’ll find your world has been turned upside down (as was the result with communism in Szymbark, Poland). I brought this gingerbread house to two Christmas parties in one night, and it got a lot of attention. I enjoyed explaining the inspiration for this gingerbread house to all of my friends. Besides being yummy it was educational and positive.

For more more photos of this wacky house, check out The Gingerbread Upside Down House.

She’ll win an awesome $150 Shopping Spree from Saffron Road and $150 Shopping Spree to World Market. Yay!

Psst… Winners, please contact me to claim your prize(s) by January 31, 2013!

Thank you all for your hard work and commitment to raising awareness for other cultures… other ways.