National Gingerbread House Competition 2026: Dates, Parking and Rules

• The 2026 National Gingerbread House Competition is judged on Monday, Nov. 16, at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C., and the display is open from Nov. 17 to Jan. 3.
• Looking is free for non-guests Sunday evenings and Monday through Thursday, but parking on the property costs $35, or $45 for valet.
• Entries are due Nov. 9, and the house rules are strict: everything edible, at least 75% gingerbread and no bigger than 24 inches on any side.

The National Gingerbread House Competition is back for its 34th year at The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa in Asheville, N.C., with more than $40,000 in cash and prizes and two new judges.

Omni Hotels & Resorts confirmed on Oct. 22 that the contest returns as part of its holiday season, and the resort has posted this year’s dates, rules and parking rates.

It began in 1992 as a small display of gingerbread houses made by local residents. The resort says it now draws entries from 26 states and more than 20,000 visitors a year.

When can you see the gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn?

The display opens on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, and stays up through Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027. Judging on Nov. 16 is closed to the public, and the awards ceremony that night is for contestants and their families.

The resort, at 290 Macon Ave., lets non-guests in on a schedule:

• Sundays: any time after 6 p.m.
• Monday to Thursday: any time during regular resort hours
• Friday and Saturday: only for registered hotel guests and people with a confirmed dining reservation
• Closed to the public: holidays and Nov. 26, Dec. 6, Dec. 23 to 26, Dec. 30 and 31, and Jan. 1

From Dec. 1 to 12, the resort also posts the entries online in its “12 Days of Gingerbread,” on its Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Is the gingerbread display free, and how much is parking?

Viewing is free; parking isn’t. From Oct. 1 to Jan. 3, there’s no complimentary parking on the property. Self-parking is $35 and valet is $45, for day visitors and overnight guests alike.

Part of that money goes to charity: the resort’s Holiday Parking Partners Program has given more than $1.4 million to nonprofits in Western North Carolina since 2013. Buses and oversized vehicles need a reservation in advance.

How do you enter the National Gingerbread House Competition?

Fill out the entry form by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 9. The piece itself doesn’t have to be finished then.

It has to be brought to the resort in person on registration day: Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1 to 5 p.m. for the Child and Youth divisions, and Sunday, Nov. 15, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Teen and Adult.

There are four divisions, for individuals or teams: Child (ages 5 to 8), Youth (9 to 12), Teen (13 to 17) and Adult (18 and older). The main rules for adults and teens:

• The entry and its base can’t be bigger than 24 inches high, wide or long, or weigh more than 50 pounds.
• Everything above the base must be edible, and the main structure must be at least 75% gingerbread.
• Up to 25% of the piece can be machine-made, like 3D-printed or laser-cut parts.
• No Styrofoam, lights or electronics, and candies must be unwrapped.

Judging is blind. Precision and neatness count for 25% of the score, originality for 25%, overall design for 20%, color for 15% and a consistent theme for 15%. The more gingerbread left exposed, the better, and a bigger piece doesn’t score higher. There’s no required theme, and the entry doesn’t have to be a house.

This year’s panel adds Sasha Nary, a pastry chef and author of Baking Magic, and Rabiha Sami, a cookie artist from Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge. They join head judge John Cook, cake artist Yolanda Gampp, resort pastry chef Jae Park and Steven Stellingwerf, who has judged for 18 years.

Who won the 2025 National Gingerbread House Competition?

The 2025 grand prize went to Mary Hulsman of Concord, N.C., for “Tiny Gnome Builders,” a cluster of crooked cottages with gnomes at work. In the adult division, Heather Nadeau of Cary, N.C., was second with “The Birch Mouse Burrow” and Michael Villella of New York was third with “Wassail Break.”

The grand prize winner and the second- and third-place adult pieces stay on display at the resort for a year after the awards.

What else is Omni doing for the holidays?

The gingerbread contest is one of several holiday traditions Omni announced on Oct. 22 across its hotels:

• Blitzen’s Bar, the pop-up holiday bar, returns at 30 Omni hotels, all open by Nov. 20, with eight cocktails and two zero-proof drinks by mixologist Julie Reiner. New this year: Santa’s Soirée, with gin and sparkling wine, and the zero-proof Elf Elixir, with dragon fruit and boba.
• Omni Lights Up the Holidays: on Nov. 28, Omni hotels light their Christmas trees at the same time, 6 p.m. local time, with free holiday cookies in the lobby.
• Santa’s Landing rooms, decorated with a tree, stockings, milk and cookies, at 26 hotels, with a $100 hotel credit on two-night stays from Nov. 14 to Jan. 3.

More from Food: Cracker Barrel’s Thanksgiving dinner to go, Target’s Thanksgiving meal deal, Macy’s Disney parade collection and Bryan Cranston’s A Christmas Carol.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: Omni Hotels & Resorts (holiday announcement of Oct. 22, 2026); The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa (competition announcement of July 22, 2026, 2026 official rules for the Adult and Teen divisions, and the competition page with viewing hours and parking rates, checked Oct. 24, 2026); Explore Asheville (event listing). Photos: The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa.