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Piping green frosting onto the outside of her gingerbread house, Leila Tavasoli ’25 focuses on the detail. At the Christmas party, there was an array of sweet treats from sugar cookies and German chocolate to other German baked goods.
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Focused on her creation, Sanjana Iyer ’25 frosts her gingerbread house to hold her door. The stability of the house was a key criteria in the judging as were other components like creativeness and visual appeal.
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Carefully positioning the base of her gingerbread house, NGHS Vice President Iris Wang ’26 plans her gingerbread house decorations. Wang went on to win first place in the decorating competition and won a prize.
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As students pore over their gingerbread houses and meticulously arrange icing and gumdrops on their houses, Stille Nacht and O Tannenbaum play softly in the background to set the tone for the upcoming Christmas season. On Friday, Dec. 6, National German Honor Society (NGHS) and German Club held the annual German Christmas party.
NGHS members received one cultural point for attending the event. Culture is a big part of the honor society requirements, which include other categories like attendance points and service points. Both NGHS and German Club each designated one event lead, both of whom worked together to organize the party.
“It was just a really fun process overall,” NGHS Reporting Secretary and Event Lead Amrita Josyula ‘28 said. “Working with NGHS and German Club allowed me to collaborate with both sets of officers and it allowed both of our ideas to get together.”
At the Christmas party, attendees ate typical German Christmas treats like Lebkuchen (which are similar to gingerbread), and Dominosteine (which consists of marzipan, Lebkuchen, and jam). In German culture, Christmas is a very important holiday and is celebrated by over 80% of the population, whether religious or secular.
“I wanted to foster a welcoming community that allows not only NGHS members to attend but also people that want to learn more about German culture during Christmastime,” Josyla said.
In addition to listening to German Christmas music and eating treats, the main part of the event was the gingerbread house-decorating competition. Each attendee received a gingerbread house and decorating supplies to impress the judges. Evaluated based on stability, creative use of materials, and visual look, the top three best gingerbread houses received a prize.
“I thought [the event] was really fun and competitive but also a great bonding activity,” NGHS member Leila Tavasoli ‘25 said. “I think my favorite thing was the gingerbread houses, seeing other people’s houses, and coming up with new ideas.”
