During the Christmas season, people love to decorate. My apartment is filled from wall to wall with decorations. Snowmen, Santas, nutcrackers, tinsel, garland, gnomes, two trees, and more. One day, I have this dream of having my own little Christmas village, you know, with a mini bakery and a mini ice skating rink. But I won't ever be able to have what one Shorewood shop is doing.
For the 10th year in a row, North Shore Boulangerie has created a gingerbread village. This year it features four different houses and a moving ice skating rink.
“People who are young, people who are looking at this display as children when we opened, are now bringing their kids by. From our side, that feels great," Gene Webb, the owner and chief baker of North Shore Boulangerie, said.
You may have bought an at-home gingerbread house kit at the store, but this village is a step above. A pastry professional precisely placed each feature, Kristina Schubert from Madison.
At first glance, it’s just a standard village. But the more you look, the more you’ll see. A bell tower, little birds on the roof, a bird sipping hot chocolate by the fire, and a tiny gingerbread man. There's a snowman hanging out by the fire. Hopefully, it doesn’t get too close or they'll be like Frosty the Snowman at the end of the movie - melted. Each of the roofs is topped with a different material. There’s a brick fireplace, sandbox, and an ice skating rental hut.
Planning something this detailed starts before Santa has had time to check his list the second time.
“Somewhere around June, July, August, we start thinking about what the holidays are going to look like," Webb said.
There are blueprints and drafts made like any construction development.
“Cutting the gingerbread before it goes into the oven, and that's done early in the fall. Everything's allowed to dry out and get very strong," Webb said.
There are duplicates of each item made given that a young (and sometimes older) customer will get overly excited and knock something down.
To those who are getting hungry and feel their sweet tooth talking, sorry, you don’t want to eat this.
“You might need some dental work if you tried to chew on this," Webb said.
This isn't typical gingerbread material. Pastry professionals use what Webb called "architectural gingerbread".
You’ve got plenty of time to marvel at the village. The owner says it will be up until the first or second week of January.
See more of the gingerbread village...
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
