For nearly every prize in this year's Gingerbread Competition & Display, expert judges decide. They score entries the week of Nov. 16, and the judged winners are due on the Peddler's Village website by Nov. 20, the day the exhibit opens. Only one prize goes to the people who walk through the Visitor & Event Center. People's Choice voting runs from Nov. 20 through Dec. 5.
The display stays up into January. The vote closes in early December, before the exhibit is halfway through its run. If you live in Buckingham and usually save the gingerbread for a quiet January afternoon, you will still see the show, but your vote will already have closed.
The judges post their scores before the doors open
The competition has run since 1984, and Peddler's Village expects more than 100 entries this season, made by members of the public. The record so far is 125 entries, set in 2023, when Bucksco.Today reported that some came from as far away as New York and Central Pennsylvania. Christine Hensel Triantos, the Village's marketing director, told the outlet that the event could "highlight the talent of so many creative people."
The judging rules are published. Each entry gets a score of 1 to 5 on five measures:
- Overall appearance and composition
- Holiday spirit in the design
- Originality, imagination and use of materials
- Difficulty and execution
- Fit within its category
Professional entries are judged separately from everyone else's. The Village says the winners list will not be given out by phone, so the website is the place to check. Since the results go up by opening day, anyone who visits during the first two weeks can already see which entries placed.
Last season, "GingyPrint 3000" won People's Choice and also took third place from the judges in the Incredibly Unusual 3-Dimensional category.
This year the categories have changed
The 2025 results and the 2026 entry page list different categories, and the difference is easy to see on the tables. In 2025, Nostalgic Lights & Silent Nights and Holly Jolly were amateur categories. Each had six places and honorable mentions, and the winners included "Waiting up for Santa" and "Christmas in Bavaria." On the 2026 entry page, those two titles appear only as themes inside the Professional division, which is judged as a single category. Amateurs have a new open category instead, called Edible Americana.
| Category | 2025 results | 2026 entry page | 2026 top prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | One judged category | Four themes, judged as one category | $325 |
| Traditional Holiday Gingerbread House | Amateur | Amateur | $300 |
| Incredibly Unusual 3-Dimensional | Amateur | Amateur, with no buildings or houses allowed | $300 |
| Nostalgic Lights & Silent Nights | Amateur | A Professional theme only | Within Professional |
| Holly Jolly | Amateur | A Professional theme only | Within Professional |
| Edible Americana | Not listed | Amateur | $300 |
| Teen, ages 12 to 17 | Listed | Listed | $100 |
The Edible Americana brief asks for holiday flair drawn from "the people, places, and traditions that define the United States." It suggests a small-town Main Street, a national landmark, a baseball stadium, a county fair with a Ferris wheel or a favorite roadside diner. Expect this year's tables to include more diners and ballparks than last year's.
The Traditional category gives entrants the most room. Victorian, colonial, modern, barn or cottage designs are all allowed, as long as they are decorated for the holidays. The Unusual 3-Dimensional category does the opposite and rules out houses and buildings entirely. If an entry in that section looks like a building, it is probably something else.
What every entry has to follow
All of the entries follow the same rules, and knowing them helps explain how each piece was built:
- At least 60% gingerbread in the main structure. Supports that don't show are allowed, and up to 40% of the components can be mechanically produced.
- No lights, movement or sound. Battery-powered and electronic parts are not allowed. If a scene looks lit up, the effect comes from sugar and color, not wiring.
- A 14-by-14-inch board, no more than 16 inches tall and 40 pounds. Kids Only entries must fit on a 12-by-12-inch board and stay under 12 inches tall.
- One professional, one entry. The rules define a professional as anyone who has been paid or asked to make baked goods, or who advertises that work on a website, blog or business card. Professionals who enter at the amateur level are disqualified.
- Young entrants build their own. Entries in the Teen, Youth and Kids Only categories must be made only by the entrants, and a parent, guardian or teacher may supervise for safety.
The People's Choice ballot uses different criteria from the judges: best use of color, best use of sprinkles, most innovative structure and holiday spirit. The judges never score sprinkles.
Fifteen days to vote, laid out on the Village calendar
Voting runs during the busiest part of the Village's season. Here is how it lines up with the rest of the calendar:
- Friday, Nov. 20. Opening day and the Grand Illumination. The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Programming outside starts at 4:30 p.m., and the lights come on at 6:15 p.m. The Village recommends arriving by 5:30 p.m. because the lots can fill. Admission and parking are free.
- Nov. 21 and 22. Kickoff weekend, with carolers and strolling performers. Santa photos are at Giggleberry Fair.
- Nov. 23 through Dec. 30. Extended shopping hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
- Thursday, Dec. 3. The sixth annual Holiday Hustle runs from 7 to 10 p.m. It has one- and two-mile routes and room for up to 1,000 participants, and the Village suggests parking at Giggleberry Fair. The listing warns that paths and road traffic may be affected.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. The last day to vote. It is also the first day of Holly Jolly Weekend, which has Santa parades at noon on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8. The People's Choice winner is announced and receives a $300 Peddler's Village Dining & Lodging Gift Card.
If you vote on the final day, you will share the Village with parade crowds. For Holly Jolly Weekend, the Village asks visitors not to park in nearby residential neighborhoods.
The weeknights the Village recommends
Peddler's Village gives direct advice on when to go. It "strongly encourages" weekday and weekday evening visits because weekend lines can be long. That advice works well for people who live nearby. From Nov. 23 through Dec. 30, the exhibit is open Monday through Saturday until 8:30 p.m., so you can stop in on a weeknight on the way home along Route 202. On Sundays it closes at 6:30 p.m.
Of the weeknights before the vote closes, Dec. 3 is the one to skip, because the Holiday Hustle runs on the Village paths that evening. The Monday through Wednesday evenings in the weeks of Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 avoid the opening crowds, the race and the parade.
There are a few house rules for the building. Strollers stay outside, food and drink are not allowed, and the entries can't be touched. Visitors must leave at closing time, and the Village says to arrive well before then because the line can be long.
After the vote closes
The exhibit stays open after Dec. 8 with shorter holiday hours. It opens 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, closes on Christmas Day and opens noon to 5:30 p.m. on New Year's Day. From Jan. 2 to Jan. 9, it is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Builders collect their entries and prizes on Jan. 10 and 11, 2027, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
By January, the People's Choice winner has already been announced. If you want a say in that prize, plan to visit by Dec. 5.
The Lisa Povlow Team follows Buckingham's seasons closely, from the Village's first lights to the January pickup weekend. If a weeknight at the gingerbread tables has you thinking about your next chapter in the township, schedule a private consultation with us.
