By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Young builders with a sweet tooth had a jolly time with family and friends during two days of  gingerbread house building  at the Clanton-Chilton Public Library.

Library director Savannah Kitchens said more than 80 people, including children and their families, came out to the first day of the event.

Graham crackers, marshmallows, shredded wheat cereal and candy were on hand as building materials.

“We had a food safe base, so it was cardboard covered in aluminum foil,” Kitchens said. “We didn’t give them any instructions. We wanted them to be creative and use their imagination. No two looked exactly alike.”

Children’s librarian Renee Edwards had the idea for using the cereal because it looked like roofing tiles. Many of the families used it as just that. Others also added it to the walls of their house as bricks.

Edwards made the icing for the project, ensuring that it would be thick enough to support the weight of construction.

“She had to do a lot of planning and logistics for it all to come together today,” Kitchens said.

Logan Powers said he used colored marshmallows as Christmas lights and peppermints for the windows.

He later noticed a flaw in his design when he mentioned he had left out a door to his house.

The creative structure did have a M&M lined walkway leading up to it.

“I used marshmallows and candy canes (peppermints) for the wheels,” Summer Powers said of her house.

Attendees had fun and thanked the library for hosting the festive event.

Kitchens said the scheduled the event for when school was out, so that more children would be able to come.

She said she really enjoyed seeing grownups working on the projects with the children.