Ever wondered how to make a gingerbread house feel like a home? Ask a mother-daughter duo from Cary who won big at the 2025 National Gingerbread House Competition.
This decades-old, competitive tradition brings together gingerbread building enthusiasts from across the country to the Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa in Asheville to show off their creative and heartfelt craftsmanship. What began in 1992 as a small local contest has grown into a nationally renowned event, drawing in top pastry artists and enthusiastic amateurs alike.
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Heather Nadeau took the second-place spot in the adults category for her creation: “The Birch Mouse Burrow.”
Her daughter Bailey placed first in the youth (ages 9-12) category for her creation called “Muddlefoot’s Mushroom Madness.”
Each creation entry is required to be 75% gingerbread and 100% edible. Judges consider overall appearance, originality, creativity, difficulty, precision and consistency of theme in categories for adults, teens, youth and children.
The top three entries in each category receive monetary prizes and, in some cases, vacations and vouchers for free activities at different Omni properties. All winning entries will be displayed at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville until Jan. 4.
Heather's creation, as one of the top three in the most prestigious category, will be on display at the hotel year-round until the 2026 competition.
Before winning big with their first solo entries at this year’s competition, the Nadeaus didn’t expect themselves to be in gingerbread at all.
Heather Nadeau is a custom cake maker by trade. But after meeting the 2022 National Gingerbread House Competition 2nd place winner, Grier Rubeling, at a bus stop, she’s spent the last three years by her side learning about and getting exposed to the world of gingerbread.
And she couldn’t get enough.
“Gingerbread is not my profession; it’s something that I’ve kind of learned hands-on with Grier, just asking a ton of questions,” Heather Nadeau said. “I went into it really proud of doing this [competition] on my own, and just getting into the top 10 … I think I blacked out.”
Not only will Heather Nadeau be known state-wide for her gingerbread talent, but she’ll also be known nationally.
In addition to getting 2nd place at nationals, Heather Nadeau, alongside her mentor Rubeling and their friend Faith Hare, were featured on a Magnolia/Food Network show called “Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition.” All episodes are streaming now on HBO Max.
As they filmed the show, Heather Nadeau though going to nationals in Asheville would be too much, until the one person she couldn’t say no to convinced her to enter.
Bailey Nadeau, 11, has been around baking basically her whole life, thanks to her mother. But beyond baking, she’s always loved building mini models. Combining her baking and designing skills, she went ahead and competed in her old elementary school’s gingerbread competition.
After taking the top prize of that competition, the judges were so impressed that they encouraged her to try and compete at the national level. Having already seen her mom help Rubeling with her designs and hearing so much of the magic that is at the Omni Grove Park, she gave it a shot. And she wouldn’t do it alone.
“My mom and I both really love mushrooms,” Bailey said. “I decided [my piece] was going to be a mushroom house, and behind the mushroom, there’d be a mouse. And then that mouse was actually on [my mom’s] piece too.”
Not only did Bailey win first place for her design, but she also got to rejoice in her mom’s second-place win—moments they said felt really amazing to experience together.
There’s no doubt that they’ll do it again in the 2026 competition, they said.
“It’s a [fun] way to express yourself and what you’re feeling and can be stress-relieving too,” Bailey reflected.
