I tried to convince myself that there would be drawbacks to living in a home made of cookies and candy. The gingerbread walls would never support my flat screen TV. My son would constantly take pieces from the roof for a snack. And, of course, we all know that only mean witches in fairy tales can live in a candy house. But as I stood there in front of the the enormous gingerbread house at Great Wolf Lodge, I couldn’t help but think that having a house made of sugar would be simply amazing.
A few years ago, Great Wolf Resorts began what has become an annual tradition of building the Taj Mahal of gingerbread houses. Each of the lodges builds one of these enormous houses and for only $10 your family can dine inside of it (the $10 gets donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America). Our family happened to visit the Grand Mound, WA location last year during the holidays and couldn’t resist the opportunity to have lunch inside what should be called a gingerbread mansion.
This year, Great Wolf Lodge partnered with Just Born, Inc.! (the company that makes those addictive PEEPS marshmallow treats) and decorated the gingerbread houses with PEEPS, Mike & Ikes, and Hot Tamales. During my drive home from Seattle, I stopped by the Grand Mound, WA lodge and took a few photos. This year’s gingerbread house is by far my favorite. The bakery staff really outdid themselves with the decorating this year. They even included a subtle paw print in the chimney design.
According to the sign out front, the Great Wolf Lodge gingerbread house required:
- 320 pounds of flour
- 2 1/2 pounds of cinnamon
- 100 pounds of brown sugar
- 375 pounds of icing sugar
- 22 gallons of corn syrup
- 80 pounds of vegetable shortening
- 100 pounds of egg whites
I am planning to head back in a few days so that my family can have our annual lunch experience inside the gingerbread house. If you are visiting Great Wolf Lodge, you can dine inside the gingerbread house by making a reservation at the restaurant podium or at the front desk. It is a very popular thing to do, so book your reservation as soon as you get there.
And if you are not able to visit during the holidays, I still have some good news for you. Just Born, Inc. has generously given us a holiday-themed package that we are giving away to one lucky family. The awesome prize pack includes Just Born candies, a cute wolf pup plush, and a $50 Great Wolf Lodge gift card. Just post a comment below to enter (one entry per day). A winner will be randomly selected from all entries on January 1, 2014.
Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to Kevin E. who was randomly selected as the winner from all entries received. Kevin, try not to eat all that candy in one sitting. Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway.
I wish we could make it to Great Wolf Lodge this year, but its been hectic here. We definitely plan on going during February or Spring break.
We went to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos last winter and we all loved it!
We were impressed with how clean and well maintained the water park was
My 3 kids LOVED MagiQuest, but I was exhausted at the end of the trip going up and down the stairs!
My son spent like 1 hour straight in the lazy river!
I love Great Wolf Lodge! Went to Snowland at the Williamsburg Lodge earlier this month and can’t wait to go back again!
I want to live in that house! Especially because we would be so close to the water park, too!
Just made plans to return to GWL in June! Giving the wolf pup and gift card to our kids would be a fun way to let them know!
would be amazing to go in the water park when it is freezing cold outside.
I’m still impressed every time I see the GWL; it’s so big, the staff is incredibly friendly and the food is very good…especially the Hungry Like A Wolf Pizza place!
Can’t wait until the new Great Wolf Lodge opens up in New England. Only about 1 1/2 hours from us.
From what I’ve read, the New England location should be incredible when it opens.
I really liked the addition of the Peeps candies on this year’s gingerbread house, although last year’s Pop Tart shingles were pretty cool, too!
They do a nice job with the decorations each year, but I especially like this year’s design.
I love that the waterproof wristbands are your room keys. Great Wolf Lodge beat Disney to the punch!
I’ve been to the Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg a couple times for Snowland now, but have never been at another holiday time. I’d love to see how they decorate for Halloween!
the Williamsburg GWL is awesome and it would be neat to visit some of the other locations like the Poconos or North Carolina!
I think my favorite dry land activity at the great wolf lodge is bowling at Ten Paw Alley
My son loves the Northern Lights Arcade at Great Wolf Lodge. I think he could probably blow through a fifty dollar gift card on games alone!
I’ve never visited the Elements Spa at Great Wolf Lodge. Winning a $50 gift card might sway me to give it a try!!
OH, and the mini golf course! We’ve been meaning to do that every time we go but we always forget for some reason
The breakfast and dinner buffets at Loose Moose Cottage were amazing!
We love getting into our pj’s and going to story time as a family at Great Wolf Lodge. It’s a great way to wind down at the end of a fun-filled day!
I can’t wait ’til my son is tall enough to go on the Howlin’ Tornado! It’s the only ride he can’t do yet, and he loves all the other slides
The bar in the waterpark area is definitely a big plus for the grownups!
My kids love staying in the Kid Cabin rooms, and I like having a little quiet on the grownups’ side as well!
Happy New Year! I bet it would be a howlin’ good time to ring in the new year at Great Wolf Lodge!
The staff at GWL are amazing when it comes to the things they do with the kids: the Cub Club, the Wolf Walk, etc.