November is almost over, so you know what that means—It’s time to put up the tree, string the lights and turn on your favorite Christmas album.

If you want to get really festive, you can never go wrong with building a gingerbread house.

In fact, last Friday, students gathered in the SUB ballrooms to celebrate the holidays by building gingerbread houses together. 

At the end of the event, anyone could enter their house into the competition. This was the first gingerbread house building event ever hosted by CAB, and officials said they plan to host more in the future, especially since this event had a good turnout.

Zaria Neal, the vice president of CAB, said, “We’re bringing Christmas cheer a little early.” 

Like many others, Neal understands that this semester has been very stressful for students because they’ve had to take most of their classes online.

“Because this semester has been stressful for so many, we decided to host this event to bring holiday cheer and help relieve some stress,” Neal said.

Attendees could also help themselves to hot chocolate and other treats while they built their houses. Students were given free rein to be as creative as they wanted while showing their building skills.

Many built elaborate houses with intricate designs on the roofs and lawns. Several students even told a story with their art by displaying a gingerbread man murder scene. 

Bryce Lovelady, a junior who is currently the weekends event committee head for CAB, expressed his satisfaction with the turnout of the event.

“We tried to think of a unique idea that hasn’t been done before,” Lovelady said. “Many people usually don’t get the opportunity to build gingerbread houses, so we thought this would be a great way for students to have fun and be creative, while also de-stressing.”

A student who attended the event, Princess Ayika,  was just as enthusiastic about the event.

“It’s great they host these types of events. It helps bring life to campus, especially since many of us aren’t able to be on campus because of online classes,” the senior medical laboratory science major said.

Ayika was one of the students who creatively displayed a gingerbread man murder scene in front of her house.

“To me, this event is successful because I see the smiles on the students’ faces. If they’re happy, I’m happy,” Lovelady said.