COLUMBUS, Ohio — Home has a different meaning for us all, but when it's pieced together by candy, the result can be rather sweet.

What You Need To Know

  • The Franklin Park Conservatory hosted a gingerbread house competition

  • First place in the family category went to Carmen Kimmel and mother Nanette

  • The duo made a nipa hut held together by pretzel stick walls and a crushed coconut roof.

  • The entries will remain on display through the end of the month

The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus hosted the 15th Annual Gingerbread Competition. This year, winners were chosen in three categories after creating pieces related to the theme, "There's no place like home for the holidays."

For Carmen Kimmel, 12, home means sandy beaches and palm trees.

Carmen's grandparents immigrated to the United States from the Philippines. After a year of in-depth planning and some help from her mom, Nanette, Carmen entered a gingerbread nipa hut into the competition.

“The nipa hut is a traditional home in the Philippines,” said Nanette Kimmel. “It is made out of bamboo and other sustainable resources. Often times families that have a nipa hut build it with their community and it's shared.”

Carmen's nipa hut is held together by pretzel stick walls and a crushed coconut roof. The special house is decorated with licorice and fondant wreaths, filled with traditional Filipino roofs and next to it sits a snowman made of graham crackers. The mother-daughter duo said piecing it together was the fun part. Winning first place in the family category is just the icing on top.

“We got to spend a lot of quality time together,” said Carmen. “We also got to experiment with different things and I was able to learn a lot about my culture.”

Carmen's gingerbread nipa hut, along with the others entered into the competition will remain on display at the Franklin Park Conservatory through December.

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