Now here’s a completely adorable way to get in the holiday spirit!
Out on Ronkonkoma, Long Island — about an hour car ride, or hour and a half train ride, from NYC — this couple has transformed their house into a life-size gingerbread house! Peter Tomasello and his husband Drew Jordan have been recreating the house for over five years, and even competed on the reality show “The Great Christmas Light Fight” in 2017 because of their amazing work.
Brown siding, gum drop lights across the roof, and candy decorations complete the look, along with tons of festive lawn ornaments, which has continued to grow year after year. Now they also have a “gingerbread village” of sorts that has taken over their backyard, with mini houses, a giant mechanical cupcake assembly line, and Sammy’s interactive Candy Factory.
Of course this year, they had to rethink their design, but still worked to make it as enchanting as possible. “The Ronkonkoma Gingerbread House is an extremely difficult display to run under these unfortunate circumstances,” they explained in the Facebook post where they announced their 2020 season. “We spent months trying to figure out a way to be as safe as possible and still deliver a unique and magical experience.”
This includes: requiring all visitors must to wear face coverings and practice social distancing at all times, as well as electronically governing how many people can be on the property at one time which results in longer wait times.
The house is open to visit now through January 1st, 6pm-10pm Sunday-Thursday and 6pm-11pm Friday and Saturday. It’s free, but the owners encourage you to donate to the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America. It’s located at 135 N. Huron St. in Ronkonkoma, NY.
featured image source: Facebook / Ronkonkoma Gingerbread House