Forty-one houses came to fruition over the weekend at the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department.

During the annual gingerbread house making contest, sponsored by CrossLife Community Church, students built houses out of sweets, which Elkridge educators judged in several categories.

For the "most delicious house," the house you just can’t wait to eat, the winner was Timothy Mackall. Honorable mentions went to Phillip McAdoo and Chesapeake Dowdy.

The "Christmas spirit award," for capturing the true meaning of Christmas, went to Kathryn Cooley. Honorable mentions went to Kyle Mackall, David Eastman and Megan Oberech.

The engineering award, presented to the creator of the house with the best construction and design, went to Ben Whiting. Michael Cook and Zackary Orsini earned honorable mentions.

"A big thanks goes out to our judges!" wrote CrossLife Pastor John Mackall in an email to Patch, in which he listed them by name:

• Gina Cash, principal at Elkridge Landing Middle School
• Rebecca Pfenninger, technology teacher at Rockburn Elementary School
• Patrick Caughy, art teacher at Elkridge Elementary School

"Also a big thank you goes out to Green Valley Marketplace for their donation," said Mackall. The supermarket provided each family that participated with foam trays to hold the houses and reusable tote bags for groceries, said Mackall.