Pimp My ‘Choo

It’s a Dunsmore family tradition to make gingerbread constructions when Christmas rolls around. I’m not sure when we built the first house (1993?), but once we got the hang of it, we went to town. Over the years we’ve built gingerbread versions of Stonehenge, a Buddhist Temple, Alpine chalets, and even a backwoods cabin complete with outhouse. This year we strayed even further from tradition than usual and went for trains.

My sister Cleo beats the dough into submission
My sister Cleo beats the dough into submission

Jack cuts out an engine piece
Jack cuts out an engine piece

Thanks to ingenious design work by my brother-in-law Jack and my dad, we wound up with pretty convincing trains. Once the parts were glued together, we got out the candy and went to town.

Kurt's first year decorating but you'd never guess it
Kurt's first year decorating but you'd never guess it

We made two engines and a bunch of cars, including one oil tanker. It looks like they are held up by their wheels, but if you look closely at the cars, you can see how we did it – hidden feet.

Red Engine with Licorice Car, Honey Tanker, and Peppermint Car
Red Engine with Licorice Car, Honey Tanker, and Peppermint Car (photo by Don Dunsmore)

The Green Train (aka the Bavarian Express)
The Green Train (aka the Bavarian Express)

Everyone got involved in the decorating and despite our best efforts, we still had bags of candy left over. No worries, though. We’ll use them in our next gingerbread extravaganza.

This article was written by Kit Dunsmore

Kit Dunsmore is a writer and an artist who wants to live in a castle, own a fire-lizard, or at least get snowed in at the library. A Renaissance woman, she is curious about everything and uses writing as an excuse to learn about whatever she likes.

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