The gingerbread-dominant Turning Stone Resort Casino Holiday Village is back, and it’s better than ever before.

This year’s village, set up near The Commons shopping boutiques, is extra-special because it was made with contributions from more than three dozen employees across nearly 20 different departments.

“The Gingerbread Village is always a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season,” said Lorena Ortega, Turning Stone Pastry Chef. “It’s great to walk through and admire the detail of each building, but when you stop and remind yourself that every one of the houses is made out of gingerbread, it’s truly remarkable.”

The village compliments other holiday decorations that include a 40-foot indoor Christmas tree, a 50-foot outdoor Christmas tree, and ornaments and other accouterments around the property.

The village is the star of the holiday show. It comprises eight independent structures, most of which are decorated with intricate detail. One house has snow-dusted roof tiles. Another home has a roof covered in blue icing. A barn has a candy cane façade and roof made of shredded wheat. All the homes are connected by train tracks and—of course—a model train. The village sits in front of a backdrop designed to look like a starry sky.

According to Lorena, here is a rundown of what Turning Stone employees used to create the village:

• 6,500 gingerbread pieces
• 2,500 Hershey’s Kisses
• 1,500 pounds of frosting
• 132 pounds of fondant
• 480 white chocolate KitKat bars
• 50 boxes of shredded wheat cereal
• 25 pounds of chocolate rock nuggets

In years past, the Gingerbread Village has been assembled primarily by members of our pastry team. This year, our pastry team needed a few extra elves to help bring the village together. More than 40 employees from 20 different departments all stepped up to help our pastry team, logging more than 200 total hours to make the annual tradition come to life and bring it back for our guests.

“The way our other teams chipped in to bring the village to life—it is a lesson in holiday spirit,” Lorena said.

The Turning Stone Gingerbread Village is free to explore and is scheduled to stay up through the holidays. See you there!