Giant Gingerbread House

If the hustle and bustle of the holidays in Santa Barbara isn’t enough to keep your Christmas-crazed kids busy this month, The Independent knows something that will. Take the whole family on a day trip to the Solvang Bakery, where a gigantic gingerbread house that stands 8x11x10 feet tall awaits awestruck children from all over the county. Bent Olsen, a fourth-generation Danish baker, created this life-sized gingerbread house using an impressive 250 pounds of gingerbread dough, 150 pounds of powdered sugar, and three gallons of egg whites. If your kids start to get squirmy after enjoying the delightful sight and smell of this not-to-be-eaten creation, you can calm their cravings for cookies by participating in one of Olsen’s gingerbread making workshops or cookie decorating fests. The gingerbread house is available for viewing at the Solvang Bakery (460 Alisal Rd., Solvang) through December 31. Call 688-4939 for more info.