Just before the holidays, Bill and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Gingerbread Village at the Four Seasons Austin. This year’s theme was “White Christmas.” The village featured a replica of Austin City Hall that was surrounded by houses representing the various neighborhoods around Austin. Proceeds from the sale of the buildings benefitted People’s Community Clinic.

This year’s village was, well, boring. Maybe their pastry chef was busy? Or maybe we’ve been spoiled in previous year by their wonderfully creative displays, such as Austinopoly and Candyland? And the setting seemed all wrong. The pretty lobby fireplace had been removed during a remodeling project earlier this year, so now the display sat directly in front of the hotel bar. Not exactly a scenic backdrop for a gingerbread village.

Austin City Hall

Zilker

Holly

Bouldin and Comal

Tarrytown

Cherrywood

Clarksville