This year’s sweet and spicy Gingerbread Spectacular has come and gone and with it some very memorable creations to add to Spectacular history.

Every year the baker artists impress and amaze us with their imagination. Baker artists enter at all skill levels. For instance, while I was at the dazzling Christmas-dressed Opera House Thursday night when the judges were, well, judging, Kevin Kiley told me Heather Malone and Joshua Paashaus, whose entry “The Cuckolds Light” would be voted Most Spectacular, were first-time ginger builders who had attended the annual gingerbread “workshop” led by Kevin in mid-November.

And now my favorites ...

#1: "UTR CAOS" - by M.J. and Corinne Poitras – Highly nostalgic, this very detailed “ginger scene” is practically perfect in every way. What a fabulous project this must have been for mom and daughter, M.J. and Corinne Poitras. First off, that old wood panel station wagon, or “Woody” … who didn’t know someone who’s family had one of those? Ironically, a Woody was one of the cars I learned to drive on – my first husband’s family’s car. I’d completely forgotten about that time – until I saw that wagon. The action depicted within this gingerbread, the expressions of the ginger people … love! Did you notice the person at the tree sales stand, near two carolers, reacting (with a “Mr. Bill” expression) to the mother who has just slipped and fallen? She’d been pulling two of her children on a sled; children blissfully unaware that mommy has fallen and, from the angle of that fall, mommy might temporarily lose consciousness. But, it’s all part of the experience ...

Moving round to check out the activity happening to the right of the “opening scene,” there’s a father figure in the process of tying the family tree to the roof of the car. A “Charlie Brown” tree just behind him (albeit a tad taller then the tree in the Charlie Brown Christmas special) is not likely to replace the full pretzel trunk tree already on the roof. There are also a few more kids playing in the snow. Returning to the front of this, two ginger people are singing Christmas carols next to the tree stand while two other kids on the hood of the car are looking pretty happy.

An exceptional slice of life in gingerbread with lots of nostalgia baked right in.

#2: “Charlie Bucket's House" constructed by Susan Brackett and Bob Eisele. At first look you thought, how did they do that? The warped and leaning roof looked like a fierce wind had blown through and left it in that condition. As Cathy Sherrill noted while I was ooohing and ahhhing over it, “gingerbread isn’t supposed to bend like that.” Speaking of bending in unusual ways, how about that chimney? Wasn’t it fabulous?! And, was that Cap’n Crunch stonework on there? Pretzels, Chex, gingerbread, sugar, icing glue … were some of the building blocks used for this character-filled, albeit rather sad, unloved house. Illuminated and warmed by the inside light, probably a lone, uncovered light bulb in there, didn’t warm the place up much. The finish on the outside of the house aged it appropriately … and the stark tree on the left side, left you with the feeling that it was like that year-round and never leafed out. I was totally (hey, Total was a cereal, too) charmed. A spot-on replica of the house from the Tim Burton film. Meticulous, top to bottom.

“Santa Has Arrived” – Holy Santamobile! What a charmer! The detailing on every side of this Victorian ginger house – the back featured a winter scene drawn in icing complete with tree, a buck with horns of a different kind, the outlined windows adorned with candies, the cute lil gingerbreads inside looking at the Christmas tree (loved the two on the wee pink sofa); the deer outside … and there was Santa readying to come down the chimney … hopefully, like Cindy Lou Who, the kids in the living room went to bed after a few words with Santa …

Woodside House was the coziest, the sweetest looking dwelling – the judges wanted to move in. And the multi-color lit Christmas tree inside made you think “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home (I won’t say it a third time, I’m not Dorothy …).

Carla Warren’s immediately recognizable style (certainly most “Obsessive Compulsive”) created “The Elves Inn” where those hard-working employees of The Clauses could let their um, hair down. The detailing was, as always, exquisite. The expressions on the elf faces, the decorated tree, sleighs, indoor lighting … As I was visiting this one, I almost, almost wanted to morph into an elf for a spell ... Not sure about that outdoor mud bath, though!

Katrina Dunsmore’s “Animal Farm” was fun to explore inside and outside of the barn. The animals were adorable. Went back to visit this one a few times. And St. Andrews Village’s “Christmas Tree Farm”! How long did it take to build that Buoy Tree of gumdrops?! And all of the other decorated trees (just like the farm in the Charlie Brown Christmas special) … Really fun and well done!

Polly Nadeau-Miller’s “Sugarloaf” depicted a most challenging course down a mountaintop of marshmallows. I could almost see Polly, face set in a determined expression, blue eyes bright riding that course to the end – no falls. Fun. Sweet.

Landmarks included East Boothbay General Store and the Most Spectacular Cuckolds Light. The rock the lighthouse is built on looked appropriately sturdy against the calm sea surrounding it; the flashing light (and yes, I too, asked Cathy if it was flashing like the actual lighthouse … and, no, that wasn’t possible because of the gizmo's – my word not Cathy’s! – light attachment.

Tribute: P&P Pastry Shoppe by the Connelly Family. Remember that fun pink bakery on McKown Street, opened by Colman and Mary Connelly?

Local event entries: The Tuna Challenge, with a long list of baker-decorators, was pretty cool, right down to the tuna fish lying at the stern end of the boats; Fishin For Fashion had some model gingers rockin’ the runway …

Laughed out loud at a few: Grumpy Grampy’s “Bait Bucket,” and Mari McGuire’s “I Told You Not To Get Plowed.”

The 18th Gingerbread Spectacular judges were Jen Correa, Lenore Imhof, Sue Norton and Nicci Kimball. I can’t wait for next year already!