Inside a circa 1875 stone church that would look right at home in the world of Brothers Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel, some of the most heartfelt, roll-up-your-sleeves, DIY food projects of the holiday season are on display at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lake Luzerne. 

It’s Reverend Louis “Father Lou” Midura and his wife Patricia’s second year with the congregation, which is very active and supportive. Fr. Lou and Patty are very grateful to be part of this church community.

Creating these elaborate cookie-walled houses is a creative and tasty Christmas confectionary tradition. Last year, there were nearly 30 gingerbread houses in the competition, constructed entirely of edible items. They are a newer piece of the Church’s Christmas Bazaar, which, this year, will include a bake sale, jewelry and crafts tables, a Christmas “trash and treasure” tag sale, and the popular Fishbowl game, with over 100 beautifully wrapped gift baskets ready to be won. 

Also in the charming Church, you can peruse the personal effects of one of its principal founders, Lt. Col. Benjamin Butler, an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War and owner of The Wayside Inn, a large resort hotel in Lake Luzerne.

Stir Up the Joy. Making gingerbread houses is a delicious memory and seeing how others have let their creativity run wild, is a delightful novelty twinkling with holiday cheer.

A miniature village has come together at the Church with each example of this Christmas craft. It’s a winter wonderland sprinkled with fluffy sugar and coconut snow, ice cream cone forests, Frosted Mini-Wheats’ thatched roofs, peppermint paths, and marshmallow snowmen. 

Seeing all these fresh spins might even inspire you to try your hand at the holiday culinary tradition with your own children. And, if you’re quick enough, you might even get to snap a picture before they start devouring their ornately decorated masterpieces!

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Christmas Bazaar, 220 Lake Ave, Lake Luzerne, will be Saturday, December 3rd,
9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

For more information, go to www.stmarysluzerne.org.