- 6 hours ago
Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition - Season 1 Episode 4 -
The Final Chapter
The Final Chapter
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Sugar and Spice, where five teams of master gingerbreaders came together for the biggest
00:07little holiday competition ever.
00:10Go bigger, go home.
00:11It all comes down to this, the season finale.
00:15Three teams remain, with Team Villa in last place.
00:19Being in the bottom two, two weeks in a row, we need to give the judges exactly what they
00:23asked for and fix all of the seams and make everything look seamless.
00:27Team Coastal in second.
00:29Our journey to get here has definitely been a rollercoaster ride.
00:32They think that we're the underdogs and we're going to show them what we can do.
00:35And Team Chalet winning the advantage.
00:38I feel like we're riding high, like we have this new sense of camaraderie.
00:41We're refocusing because we came here to win.
00:44With $100,000 on the line.
00:47And a finale guest judge that will have our gingerbreaders in tears.
00:51Fine.
00:52The final chapter is about to unfold.
00:54I am so excited that we get to be in the finale and we get to finish our project.
01:04This is it.
01:04Just need to dough big or go home.
01:07Hmm.
01:07Okay.
01:09All right.
01:10Sorry to those other people in those other teams, but we're going to win.
01:14Mm-hmm.
01:15Yeah.
01:15That's so cute.
01:17We really want to win because we want to prove to people that self-taught, stay-at-home moms,
01:23we can accomplish anything.
01:25But we can't start our finale without a big entrance from our host.
01:30That's me, Oliver Hudson.
01:32Oh, my God.
01:32Oh, no.
01:34Seriously?
01:35Knock, knock.
01:36It's finale time.
01:38Oh, God.
01:39Are you stuck?
01:44He did.
01:45This is gingerbread land, where the houses are tiny, but the prize is huge.
01:52We are talking $100,000.
01:56Woo!
01:56Now, only one challenge stands between a team and claiming the grand prize.
02:00I cannot wait to see how you finish off the fourth and final corner of your world.
02:06Before I introduce your next challenge, let's welcome back our judges,
02:10Chef Gilgannon and architect Michael Ford.
02:13Oh.
02:15For me, the holidays are all about joy.
02:19So, teams, your final theme is where we play.
02:26We want you to leave it all out on the field and create a fun and festive communal space.
02:32And we want you to add a touch of holiday magic, so your builds must include a special effect.
02:39Oh, my gosh.
02:40Think big.
02:41Dazzle us.
02:42We don't know how to do special effects.
02:45But that only spurs me on to try harder.
02:49Play isn't just your theme.
02:51It's an opportunity.
02:52Your creativity is going to make the difference.
02:54So, I don't want to see anybody holding back.
02:56Execution is critical, and make sure your new section integrates seamlessly with the stuff you built before.
03:04They're judging your entire gingerbread land.
03:07So, guys, remember, you can still go back to your previous builds and improve anything that the judges critiqued you on.
03:12And we're going to be bringing just a bit more magic with a truly special guest judge.
03:17OMG, you are going to want to impress this person.
03:22We have 12 hours to bake and build until the clock strikes 12.
03:28Ready?
03:29Go!
03:29We made it to the finale.
03:33All right.
03:33I am so excited.
03:35Like, we are so close.
03:37Okay.
03:38So, finale.
03:39Quadrant four.
03:40Where are we playing?
03:41The stakes are higher than they've ever been.
03:43What I'm looking for are different things from the different teams.
03:47For Team Chalet, I'm looking for them to soften things a little bit.
03:52With Team Coastal, I'm looking for the opposite.
03:54They've really gotten this far on how much heart they have and how warm it is.
04:00But I need a little more precision.
04:03Team Villa, on the other hand, lacks some of that warmth and softness as well, just like Team Chalet.
04:11I'm still looking for some holiday magic.
04:13I need to be wild at this point to give away $100,000.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Out on the line.
04:19Let's check it out.
04:20Let's walk.
04:21Maybe we can, like, build things around this big, grand tree.
04:25The challenge this week is where we play, and we're thinking to, like, bring a little bit more fun.
04:31So, this is serving as, like, the common recreational area for our village around the Christmas tree.
04:37We're planning to populate our space with a cookie shop, a coffee shop,
04:41and a gingerbread house for Santa.
04:43We're going to have a train, the playground, and a bounce house for the kids.
04:48I think I can step it up a bit with the isomalt techniques and make something that looks like a snow globe.
04:55I think it's a great plan.
04:57Are we so excited or what?
04:58We're very excited.
04:59We're going to do, again, like, a mix of the both styles, but Arlene is going to put, like, her magic everywhere.
05:07It's supposed to be the Arlene show.
05:09Oh, good.
05:10Yes.
05:10I'm pouring isomalt for the skating rink.
05:14They want to see more techniques from us, so we're going to incorporate an ice rink.
05:18The rink is actually going to end up being the special effect.
05:22The isomalt disc is going to sit on top of a rotating turntable to give the illusion that our skaters are skating around the rink.
05:29So, the ice rink foundation is set.
05:32And then I go back and I etch some skate marks into it because I want to make sure that we have this realistic look going on.
05:40There.
05:42That looks cute.
05:43That's so stinking cute.
05:44Oh, my gosh.
05:45I'm making homemade wallpaper.
05:47Susan is making homemade wallpaper.
05:50It's going to be cooler when it's done.
05:52Handmade wallpaper.
05:54I like it a lot.
05:56Now I'm going to start working on our clubhouse.
05:59I'm going to add the color to our royal icing to match the color of the gingerbread, so when I put the pieces together, they look just perfect.
06:08My son is definitely the motivation.
06:10I need to win this because mommy is telling him that if you work hard, you can conquer everything in life.
06:17Hey, Leonardo, this is all for you, papi.
06:20Hello, Team Coastal.
06:24Hi.
06:24Hi.
06:25What are you thinking?
06:27A boathouse where they can play.
06:31So this is a boathouse.
06:33There will be a pier and a dock.
06:35It's the hub of this community, so we're going to bring this boathouse to life by having kids playing in the snow, a seafood boil, a gingerbread house competition.
06:45There will be a horse and sleigh carriage going up the hill and a boat on shore.
06:50Y'all have had a strong emotional pull on everybody who comes in.
06:54We do this truly because we love it.
06:58We do it because of the friendship.
07:00I've known these two for a while now.
07:03Wendy actually lives five blocks from me, but then I met Jennifer at a gingerbread competition in 2017, and we haven't stopped talking about gingerbread since.
07:12As a team, we are staying true to our artistic style and the way that we feel gingerbread houses should be made, handmade, handcrafted with a ton of different details so that when you look at our piece, you're not having to be told what that story is.
07:31Hello there.
07:32Hey, Team Villa.
07:34How are you doing?
07:34We decided we would start by giving you guys what you asked for in the first three, trying to focus on covering some of our themes.
07:42Wow.
07:43So what are you thinking about with where we play?
07:46We are presenting a seaside play area where we will have one final large structure that is going to be open and lit.
07:54We have a Christmas tree, and we're going to have a few market stalls where we can put teeny tiny little details and really show how the community comes together.
08:03But I think one of the biggest challenges for us with this theme is that the Mediterranean has no snow.
08:11Not being able to use snow to make things look more holidayish, more Christmassy, we can't really do that.
08:18But are we in the Mediterranean, or are we in gingerbread land?
08:22I think that's one of the things that we can do.
08:24We can dream.
08:25It's the holidays.
08:26We're bending reality.
08:27Christmas miracles do happen.
08:29It doesn't really snow in the Mediterranean, and I think we really took that very literally.
08:36However, it's become clear that the judges want snow, and so we need to figure this out.
08:41So, Carolina, talk about what you're doing.
08:44So I'm working on the clubhouse.
08:46I'm putting a lot of people, like, dancing.
08:48That's awesome.
08:48And I'm planning to put, like, these lights that they go, like, with different colors.
08:52Strobe lights.
08:53Exactly.
08:54Okay, you ready for a tough question?
08:55Yeah.
08:56You're competing with these two other teams.
08:57Yes.
08:58What edge do you think that they may have on you?
09:01They're seeing beauty on their imperfections, you know?
09:05And I was so focused on the perfection.
09:08Yeah.
09:08So I'm just letting that go and focus on what makes these things alive.
09:15All right.
09:15Keep it going.
09:15The main priority for me is the faux gingerbread house, where you go meet Santa.
09:23Okay.
09:24This little gingerbread house is taking me the longest time.
09:29I'm seriously not used to this scale.
09:30The smallest I make is three or four feet.
09:33This is actually the smallest house I've ever made.
09:35So I feel like I can't do some things just because of that.
09:40I'm fine.
09:41I'm going to be fine.
09:42This little house will not destroy me.
09:44I realize I need a turntable so I can get the edges of the house together.
09:50There, a makeshift turntable.
09:52And then the worst thing happens.
09:55What, what, what?
09:57What?
09:57Oh, my gosh.
10:05What, what, what?
10:07Santa's house, it just goes kapooey.
10:10Oh, my gosh.
10:12I've never had this happen to me before.
10:15Do you want this turntable?
10:17I would love a turntable.
10:18I couldn't find one.
10:20The shame.
10:21The embarrassment.
10:23That's four walls and a roof.
10:25How do you screw that up?
10:27You don't cry.
10:29Moisture's not good for gingerbread.
10:30I'm just going to stick it back together.
10:32It's gotten my dander up, so now I'll go faster because now I'm mad.
10:37Oh, bloody.
10:39Susan, how are you?
10:41Okay.
10:42I had a little crash earlier.
10:44Now I'm bringing it back to life.
10:46Well, you know that I used to DJ.
10:48Don't you dare.
10:49Don't you dare.
10:50You will be building this.
10:56So for this challenge, we get to see our whole coastal community come to life.
11:02We want a boathouse that looks like a community center.
11:05I'm double layering the gingerbread.
11:07It makes things overall more sturdy.
11:10This is my last wall to do like this.
11:12We want it to look like somebody handcrafted that boathouse out of scrap that they took time to do.
11:18Is that your timer?
11:20Yeah.
11:20Okay.
11:21All right.
11:21I just didn't want to turn it off.
11:23When it comes out of the oven, we're going to have a front, a middle piece, and a back piece
11:28so that that will help hold up the roof.
11:31I'm just aging the boathouse a little bit with edible oil paint.
11:36Once I constructed the boathouse, it was time to pass it on to Jennifer to work on the metal roof.
11:41We're going to use white gingerbread that has been applied to regular gingerbread.
11:45With white gingerbread, you just take out a cup of your flour and add a cup of titanium dioxide,
11:52and it is a nice white.
11:55Okay.
11:56I would love to win to pay off my house.
11:58I want to be debt-free on that end.
12:00I just had a grandbaby.
12:02I'm a grandma.
12:04So for me to have my house paid for, and my goal was to leave it to my children for them
12:12to have a home base when they came back to North Carolina.
12:15That's my ultimate goal.
12:18The judges keep saying we need more Christmas.
12:21Yeah.
12:22And more snow.
12:23What do you think we should do?
12:24Give them what they want.
12:25We have that pump system.
12:28Mm-hmm.
12:28What if we shoot snow out of that, and then it could, like, snow on everything?
12:33All right.
12:33We know what we want our special effect to be.
12:36We want a snow-blowing machine.
12:38We find PVC pipe that is the perfect dimension for our air pump.
12:43We take a sugar substitute and add a little bit of our luster dust just to kind of make everything
12:49a little sparkly.
12:50Look at this.
12:51Aim it that way.
12:53Button there.
12:54This way?
12:55Yep.
12:58Whoa.
12:59I got engaged earlier this year to my fiancé, Christopher.
13:04I had promised him that I was going to take this year off of competing for gingerbread
13:09because it is so time-consuming.
13:12We're working up to a year towards the national competition.
13:15We're doing marathon days on weekends.
13:17So with the prize money, I would love the opportunity to travel with my fiancé, Christopher,
13:22to spend that time really dedicated to our relationship.
13:26Wow, that's cool.
13:29All right.
13:30See you guys.
13:32It should be good and hot.
13:34So the challenge is where we play.
13:36So we're going to incorporate an isomalt bounce house because my kids love to, like, literally
13:39jump on everything.
13:41We're going to let it cool down some.
13:43For Team Chalet, I would love to see some new techniques and this snow globe might be it.
13:49I'm hoping that I haven't seen the breadth of their skills.
13:53Yeah.
13:54All right.
13:55Moment of truth.
13:55Isomalt is this extremely hot, melted sugar that, you know, could very easily pop the water balloon if you're not careful.
14:04So much like you do with a dipped wax candle, you have to just gently build up layers as you dip the balloon.
14:11That's what we did not want to happen.
14:13That really concerns me.
14:14I want to do something different so that I can make sure that we successfully execute the technique.
14:21So I'm thinking about trying to make the dome out of gelatin.
14:23Oh, that's perfect.
14:24It's scary because this is for everything.
14:26Like, everything is on the line.
14:28My teammates are relying on me.
14:29I'm not going to be the reason why we go home losers.
14:33There's a nice, thick layer on here.
14:36I need to make adjustments so that we can make sure we're successful.
14:40Gelatin can't be crystal clear like Isomalt, and it's not going to be perfectly shiny like Isomalt, but it's still a very good backup option.
14:48Oh, that works.
14:49That is a bounce house.
14:50That is awesome.
14:51That looks perfect.
14:52That looks perfect.
14:53Guys, you are halfway through your time.
14:56Oh, my gosh.
14:57We have so much work left to do.
14:59We don't have roofs on our buildings.
15:01We don't have things painted.
15:03There's no Christmas elements yet.
15:05We are stressed.
15:08We've got $100,000 on the line.
15:10There's more pressure than there's ever been.
15:11What can they do to impress you?
15:13We'll see how people live in this space and not have too many barriers from one quadrant to the next.
15:19I'm dying to see what their whole vision is.
15:22Yes.
15:23I don't.
15:24I'm not in charge of that.
15:26Yeah, go.
15:26Go do your thing.
15:27Or do.
15:27You're running out of time.
15:29And for me, it's all of a sudden, it's like clarity.
15:31Like, you know what needs to be done.
15:33We're almost like a ballet group.
15:35We start doing the dance.
15:37We're going to be making a horse-drawn sleigh ride.
15:40For the sleigh, I'm going to roll out some red gingerbread.
15:43And then I cut out pieces.
15:45And I use black gingerbread for the runners.
15:48And then you kind of have to, like, cut things down, add things to it.
15:51I'm going to add in some gold filigree on the side.
15:55For the horse, we're going to use dissolvable sutures.
15:59And I'm going to drill a hole through where his mouth is, run the suture through, and that
16:04will be the reins.
16:05Just put the tube there.
16:07So we have to include a special element in this quadrant.
16:11So what's better than to have the fog?
16:14Fog will set in a coastal area.
16:17Turn it on, babe.
16:18There you go.
16:19Look how it's coming out of the crease.
16:21Look at that.
16:23That's what you want right there.
16:24That's it.
16:25That's it.
16:25For us to include, especially element, is a big challenge.
16:29We are not engineers.
16:31I'm a little worried about that.
16:33But $100,000 prize is a huge prize.
16:35So you take the risk to get the reward.
16:38That works.
16:40There we go.
16:41We've decided to do more of an open market.
16:45So there's very big arched windows in it, and it creates very, very thin pieces on the
16:50side.
16:51All these pieces here.
16:52I put Tylos glue on it.
16:54I just have to pray and hope that it dries in time for me to put it together in time.
17:00Things are moving so fast and so quick.
17:03I know I need a handoff painting to Greer.
17:06There is a reason that we don't let me paint things, and it's because I don't have the
17:11patience that Heather does.
17:12But I'm just going to go ahead, and I'm going to paint it.
17:16Oh, no.
17:18What happened?
17:18Sorry.
17:19I just dripped brown all over our nice white side and shutters.
17:25Dang it.
17:26Oh, that's not good.
17:27You dripped all down the side of this building.
17:33I know.
17:34I'm sorry.
17:34I try to paint over it, and the brown quickly comes through that white paint again.
17:39I don't like that.
17:40And the clock is just ticking.
17:42I got to think of something else.
17:43I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense that we would have greenery there.
17:48It's obviously not a spot for shutters or another window.
17:51We can't do anything like that.
17:52But eventually, I'm able to take vodka to dissolve that brown paint.
17:56So I'm absolutely thrilled when it starts working, and we're in the clear.
18:02Beautiful.
18:04Attention, teams.
18:06Put the gingerbread down.
18:07We are stopping the clock.
18:10Oh, my God.
18:11Come on down.
18:12Gather up.
18:12Here comes Oliver with this twist.
18:14And I'm just like, oh, my gosh.
18:17What is this going to be?
18:21Traditionally, Christmas crackers contain a toy or a fun riddle.
18:26But these hold your final story prompts.
18:31Okay, someone from each team, grab a cracker.
18:34No cracking until you're back in line.
18:37All right.
18:39Open your cracker.
18:41Release the cracker.
18:43Whoa!
18:43Whoa!
18:44That was aggressive.
18:47Team Villa, what's inside?
18:49Shining Star.
18:51Shining Star.
18:52Team Villa.
18:53Shining Star.
18:54We're excited.
18:55That's pretty generic.
18:56And we were already going to have a star at the top of our tree.
18:58And we think that works perfectly in our story.
19:01Team Coastal, what's your story prompt?
19:03Ring-a-ding.
19:04Oh!
19:05It worked out well.
19:06We could incorporate a bell on top of our boathouse without really changing the design.
19:11Team Chalet, what's inside?
19:13What are we reading?
19:14Oh, what?
19:14Let me see.
19:16Thumpity, thump, thump.
19:18Thumpity, thump, thump.
19:20Oh, no.
19:20What's that?
19:21All I can think of is rabbits.
19:23Okay, so Team Chalet.
19:24I promised you guys a special advantage after winning the last challenge.
19:28Here it is.
19:29You can swap your story prompt with any other team.
19:33Remember, this is the final build.
19:36Every choice that you make, it could be the difference between you winning $100,000 and going home empty-handed.
19:42Oh, my God.
19:43Last time we had the advantage.
19:45We didn't want to sabotage anybody.
19:47Thank you, thank you, thank you.
19:49But this is the finale, so I don't know.
19:53Yeah.
19:53Team Chalet, make your choice.
19:56I don't want that thing.
19:57I feel like we should change and get the shining star because a star makes sense.
20:03And we realized very quickly that we're going to get the shining star stolen from us, and we're going to end up with thumpity, thump, thump.
20:11No, no, no.
20:13Oh.
20:15Super excited about stealing that.
20:17I'm loving this advantage.
20:18Yeah, that was the best thing I heard.
20:20I mean, it wasn't the nicest thing, but also I'm grateful to have had the room to do it.
20:24I can't even front.
20:26Okay, guys, remember, our judges want to see creativity, overall design, clean execution,
20:32and now great storytelling in your builds.
20:35Let's restart the clock.
20:38All right, get cracking.
20:39All right.
20:42We had talked about putting a cupola on that barn.
20:45We can find a bell.
20:47We want to put a cupola on top of our boathouse.
20:49Then we're going to put a bell in the middle.
20:52The plan for the cupola, I ended up taking some gingerbread, I've cut it up, glued it together with isomalt,
20:58and then laid in red roof tiles all the way up the top.
21:00I think we're going to make a star to go on top of the tree.
21:04And what I'm going to do is I'm going to add a light, and I'm going to make it out of isomalt.
21:09Perfect.
21:09And then we put some lights.
21:11We'll be good.
21:12Very convenient.
21:12All right.
21:13All right.
21:13I'm the special effects girl, so I have to make this star shine.
21:18To make this shining star, I use a star cutter to pour melted isomalt in and cast a perfectly shaped star.
21:25And then I'm going to cast another one that I will then attach to both sides of that star to make it three-dimensional so you can see all around it.
21:33Carolina.
21:34Yeah.
21:35Yay.
21:35Yay.
21:37That's cool.
21:38We finally have a shining star.
21:40We're thinking to, like, bring a little bit more fun.
21:44We want to have this really big Christmas tree moment.
21:46We're going to have a train for the kids.
21:49This is deal.
21:50This is on earth.
21:52I have this crazy idea of using deal to cover our Christmas tree.
21:58So I'm going to start just taking branches one by one and then build my way up.
22:04This is time consuming, but I think it's so worth it because it will give a very, very nice impact.
22:10That looks perfect.
22:12Success.
22:14Okay.
22:14So thumpity thump thump.
22:16They've talked about, like, our stories are just not strong enough.
22:19Does anybody know anything about, like, Italian culture?
22:22I heard about a character called Lava Fana.
22:25Okay.
22:25And so she's kind of like a Santa Claus character.
22:27She brings toys and candy.
22:30That's how we introduce Lava Fana, because you can hear her walking up on the roof.
22:34What if we have Lava Fana on top of this big building, throwing candy to the children below?
22:41Legend of Lava Fana is that she is portrayed as kind of a good witch.
22:46With Santa, you could hear the reindeer's footsteps on the roof.
22:50While Lava Fana, children can hear her wooden shoes.
22:54Thumpity thump thump.
22:56She's an older woman.
22:57She has a shawl in her head.
22:58She rides on a broom and has, like, a burlap sack that she carries her toys in.
23:03I like this Lava Fana character.
23:04Give the judges what they want.
23:05Play up the magic a little bit.
23:07Thumpity thump thump.
23:08We have this giant world, so I am making a ton of people to make sure that our little festival is fully populated.
23:17It's a lot of effort.
23:18I put the gum paste in the mold.
23:20I squish it together.
23:21I open it, and I trim the sets.
23:23And it's just a long process.
23:24And then when it's hard, Heather paints them.
23:27Everything is super tiny.
23:29But super tiny things are super cute.
23:31But it's not going to look right until we have some sort of snow.
23:36And make it look like a real snowy festival and give the judges Christmas.
23:40Oh, my gosh.
23:42With the snow, it looks so Christmassy.
23:44It's not enough time.
23:46The hook is sticking, and I'm thinking, oh, my God, we're not going to make it.
23:50Here's the accident-prone one.
23:52That's so cute.
23:53It was just like going everything in snow to make it seamless.
23:58Oh, my goodness.
23:58I'm in disbelief, honestly, at what it is that we've been able to create.
24:03Like, it's so beautiful.
24:05We have a train.
24:06That looks perfect.
24:08We have ice skaters on a rink, a lit Christmas tree.
24:12And we also have a dance party going on in the clubhouse.
24:17Okay, teams, 20 minutes left, and the judging room doors are open.
24:25Before we can move.
24:27All right.
24:27Oh, whoa, here we go.
24:29We're the first team moving our piece into place.
24:32Slowly.
24:33Okay, straighten around.
24:34I'm feeling excited to have the opportunity to just finish this beautiful gingerbread village.
24:40And I'm also really nervous because a lot is on the line.
24:43Right there.
24:45Okay, ready?
24:46Okay.
24:46We are moving.
24:47Look at behind you, man.
24:48Y'all stop.
24:49We've got this beautiful, incredible piece.
24:52It really is personal.
24:53We're kind of the underdogs here.
24:55Are we good?
24:56That's about right.
24:58Team Villa, we've got about five minutes.
24:59Five minutes left.
25:01We have so much work left to do.
25:03The lighting part of this process, it's more difficult than I anticipated.
25:08Now I need to finish connecting the lights.
25:09I have to fix the lights or we're not going to have lights.
25:12Yes, we are in the finale.
25:15We have a chance of winning $100,000.
25:18But if we don't have lights throughout the entire build, we're screwed.
25:21We've got 90 seconds left, teams.
25:24Why don't we start rolling?
25:25I can fix this in there.
25:26Go, go, go.
25:26Okay, you got it.
25:29Team Villa, the final team in the judging room.
25:33All right.
25:34We have one battery pack that powers it all.
25:37And lots and lots of lights that all have to go to that one place.
25:4130 seconds.
25:43Getting down to it.
25:45Come on, guys.
25:46Okay.
25:47I got it.
25:48Christmas miracle.
25:49We have 10 seconds.
25:51Oh, my God.
25:53Hold on.
25:53Move out of my way.
25:54All right, go.
25:55Okay, you guys.
25:57Six, five, four, three, two, one.
26:03All right, that's it.
26:04Time is up.
26:07The building is over.
26:09You have completed your gingerbread lands.
26:11Congratulations, teams.
26:13And they're all beautiful.
26:14You did an excellent job.
26:16We hope that we have done enough.
26:19As artists, you hope that the judges feel what you felt putting into it.
26:24I feel very proud.
26:25$100,000 is a lot of money, and it'd be great.
26:28We did what we came to do.
26:29We did it well, and we're very proud of ourselves.
26:33We really pushed our limits.
26:35We've done everything we could possibly do.
26:37It's really in the judges' hands.
26:39Oh, God.
26:40Oh.
26:43Okay, teams, it is time for your final judging.
26:48Each of you have built a one-of-a-kind gingerbread land in a unique architectural style.
26:54You started with one house, growing with each challenge into incredibly detailed, miniature worlds.
27:02This is it.
27:02This judging is all about crowning our champion.
27:07Everything's on the line.
27:08This is what we've been working towards, this moment right here.
27:11But first, as promised, we have a very, very special guest judge.
27:17Her love of family and tradition and holidays makes her the perfect judge for our world.
27:23She's an entrepreneur.
27:24She's a New York Times bestselling author and the co-founder of Magnolia.
27:29So, please welcome the one and only Joanna Gaines.
27:38Oh, my God!
27:40How are y'all?
27:41It's surreal.
27:42It's overwhelming.
27:43I've dreamed of meeting her, and then there she's standing there.
27:47I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.
27:50I'm so excited.
27:51We're so happy you're here.
27:52Thanks for coming to play with us.
27:54Oh, my gosh.
27:54You love gingerbread as much as anyone in the world.
27:57Oh, my goodness.
27:58And building gingerbread houses is an important tradition in your family.
28:02So, what are you looking for today?
28:04So, for me, when I look at this, I think, what's telling the story?
28:08What is giving me that feeling?
28:10Because we all know that design is beautiful, but when you can go past what's beautiful and
28:15really touch the heart, the feeling of things, that's when things really start moving you.
28:21Oh, Jennifer, you're a little worked up there.
28:24What's going on, Jennifer?
28:29Beautiful expression with no words.
28:32You are so cute.
28:33Hi.
28:34Nice to meet you.
28:35Nice to meet you, too.
28:36Thank you for being a part of this.
28:37Oh, my God.
28:40Okay, gingerbreaders.
28:41Up first is Team Chalet.
28:46Tell us about your build.
28:47Welcome to Snowcap Springs at Sugar Pine Village.
28:51This is our version of an amusement park and recreational space for children and adults.
28:56We have a bounce house for the kids to bounce in, and that's actually a gelatin dome.
29:01And then we also have this train that the kids ride on.
29:05We have Santa out with you guys standing right there in front, admiring Susan's handiwork on this lovely gingerbread house.
29:12And then we have this really funky Christmas party going on.
29:16For our special effects, we eat.
29:23Yes.
29:24That's magic.
29:25So our story prompt was Shining Star, and it is this star on this beautiful dill Christmas tree.
29:31Let's start with Chef Gail, shall we?
29:33This is just such a wonderland.
29:36One of my favorite things is how my eye is drawn in and how I'm drawn in from down low to way up high.
29:43Like, there's so much dimension.
29:45And I love how you interpreted Shining Star, which is done with isomalt sugar.
29:49It's great.
29:50And the movement.
29:51I love it.
29:53You did an amazing job at executing this architectural style.
29:57The precision that I see, I think you hit every major architectural element that you can find with the Mountain Chalet.
30:03You showed some new techniques.
30:05You've been pushing for new use of materials.
30:07So I see that you've created, is it a sugar dome for the snow globe?
30:11It's actually gelatin.
30:12Yeah.
30:13So the isomalt was not cooperating.
30:15I think it was successful.
30:18We love to ski every year.
30:19This truly reminds me of a ski town that we love so much.
30:23What brings the magic to it, it's the twinkly lights.
30:27It's the pond that's spinning.
30:29It's the dill tree dead center.
30:32That you've created this kind of magic.
30:34It says a lot about your individual talent.
30:36My critique would be that there'd be even more whimsy.
30:39It is so beautiful and so impressive that my brain can't compute that this is gingerbread.
30:45Thank you all.
30:45Team Chalet, thank you guys so much.
30:48Exhale.
30:49Okay, team Coastal.
30:53So welcome back to our Coastal community.
30:55In this challenge, it is where you play.
30:59And so here we have our boathouse, and then we have our sleigh ride, and then our flotilla.
31:05Our story prompt was ring-a-ding.
31:07So we decided to add a bell tower with our lofty seagull at the top.
31:12Ring-a-ding.
31:13I like that.
31:14Would you like to see the special effect?
31:16Yes.
31:17Of course.
31:17Yes.
31:17So as everyone's gathering, they're waiting, but something rolls in that could spoil our flotilla.
31:25Do I just hit the bottom button?
31:26Uh...
31:27We had to learn to work a lot of things.
31:29Give it a minute to come through.
31:32I heard it.
31:32I hear it.
31:33Oh, it's coming.
31:35Fog's rolling in.
31:36That is awesome.
31:37It's a lot of pressure knowing that Joanna Gaines is going to be the judge for this challenge.
31:42That is so cute.
31:43You so want to impress her and hope that she can appreciate all that hard work that you put into it.
31:48All right, Team Coastal started from the bottom.
31:52Yeah, we literally did.
31:53But now, with this final piece, you've made it completely open.
31:56You can see the interior.
31:58There are small details we're getting.
32:00You all do not use templates.
32:02You don't stamp things.
32:03So I saw you making each one of those cedar shingles.
32:06I didn't understand how they get weathered over time.
32:10It has a storybook quality to it, almost like you're opening a pop-up book.
32:15It's great.
32:16Your craftsmanship is beautiful, very precise, very clean, which I asked for.
32:21Your special effect requires a lot of labor to get it going, but it is there.
32:28This is so saturated in story.
32:31Yes.
32:32And that's what feels really special.
32:34So when we step into this little world, it makes me feel like it's real.
32:39It's alive.
32:39But then it's also so dreamy and whimsical, which I think is that beautiful balance of gingerbread.
32:44Nothing is the same.
32:46And that's what I love.
32:47That's the craftsmanship.
32:48It's like you took every literal piece and said, how can we make this feel special?
32:53And that's what I see here.
32:54It feels emotional to me.
32:56I have a little seven-year-old boy who loves to fish.
32:58This would be his dream.
33:00Good job.
33:01Thank you, Team Coastal.
33:03Good work.
33:05All right, Team Villa, tell us about your build.
33:08Welcome to the Mediterranean.
33:10We decided that we were going to have a Christmas festival in a nice big Christmas tree.
33:15And we set up some market stalls.
33:17We have toys and things that we are selling to the children.
33:20Wow.
33:21We heard you when you said more open buildings.
33:24So we went with a very, very open building.
33:27Upstairs, we have the bar where you can sit and you can overlook the water.
33:32Up here, we have a figurehead that is a local tradition.
33:36La Bafana, or the witch.
33:38She kind of plays into our story prompt.
33:41We got thumpity thump thump.
33:43In Southern Italy, they do believe in Santa Claus, but they also have La Bafana, the witch.
33:48It is said that the three wise men approached her while they were taking their gifts to
33:53the baby Jesus, but she turned them down because she was too busy with her chores.
33:58And she regretted that decision.
34:00So instead, she gave all of her gifts to the local children.
34:03Little kids will hear her worn out shoes, and that's when they know that she is at the
34:08house.
34:08Thumpity thump thump.
34:09Is the shoes.
34:10Special effect.
34:11So we decided that this year, because the children love snow so much, that we were going
34:16to name our piece, Miracle on the Mediterranean, because it actually did snow.
34:23Snow!
34:25I like that.
34:27I appreciate it.
34:28I couldn't think of a better judge for this last part, and I can't believe that we were
34:35able to create something that she gets to see.
34:38Dang, that is awesome.
34:40And hopefully she really likes it, because that would be the ultimate validation.
34:47Yeah.
34:48So I love the realistic nature of it.
34:50I love the story that I'm hearing that I've never heard of before.
34:54La Bafana.
34:54I love all the details, all those little moments.
34:57You brought Christmas to this town.
34:59But I'd say my one critique is just that architectural anchor.
35:02I feel like it's kind of all the same level, and my favorite thing in this whole set is
35:08that church.
35:09And it's like part of me wants that right in the center to, like, ground the whole village.
35:13You show progress throughout this competition.
35:15So you have a lot of openness, the open-air porches.
35:20You have opportunities for people to enjoy this environment.
35:24I also want to commend you on taking a risk and saying, you know what?
35:27We're not in the Mediterranean.
35:28It is our gingerbread wonderland.
35:31And we can have snow if we want to.
35:33I like that.
35:34Team Villa, I love that you went back and added lots of Christmas stuff.
35:39The snow kind of ties the whole thing together.
35:42The walkways, you know, show just enough.
35:45I also want to compliment you on the fact that you have seamless build.
35:49There's a whole other level to this.
35:51I almost can't tell where the divisions of each quadrant are.
35:57We didn't have that last time.
35:59Team Villa, thank you guys.
36:01Great job.
36:03The judges have seen your complete gingerbread lands.
36:09This is going to be their toughest decision yet, absolutely.
36:12So when we come back through these doors, we are going to announce the winner of the grand prize,
36:18which is $100,000.
36:21So teams, please return to your stations while the judges deliberate for the final time.
36:27Thank you guys.
36:27You were amazing.
36:28Great job.
36:35Okay.
36:35So judges, we've seen the builds.
36:37I think it's time to make some decisions.
36:39Okay.
36:39I think my favorite thing about this chalet build is the scale feels very realistic.
36:45Like I'm looking at it and that looks truly like this little mountain town.
36:49Team chalet, they're precise with their architecture, construction of their roofs.
36:54They were doing calculations of angles to try to get some of these gables and ridges to line up.
37:00I can breathe a little bit easier, but I'm still like, ah, you know?
37:07Team Coastal, they are a complete contrast from the approach of team chalet and team villa.
37:14It's not perfect, but it's the imperfection of it that brings the beauty and brings the charm.
37:20It's got a childlike quality about it.
37:22It has a sense of humor.
37:24Yeah.
37:24Playful, but still very on when it comes to the architectural details.
37:29I love the elevation shifts.
37:31You've got this buildup and then you have these smaller moments and then it comes to the water.
37:34Like that's what makes this one so interesting.
37:36Yeah.
37:36That feels natural.
37:38We didn't get eliminated early.
37:40We got to build the whole thing and that's what we wanted to do.
37:43It's a lot to be proud of.
37:44If we didn't win, it's a lot accomplished.
37:47I mean, we did the best that we could do.
37:49We did a lot.
37:50Well, and everybody here was amazing.
37:51And like I said, this is like being at the best beauty pageant you could be at.
37:56Team Villa, when you look at all of the textures across each team, I mean, the terracotta roofs are probably one of the best textures.
38:04It's incredible.
38:05Same with their stucco.
38:07They were true with thinking about like these sun-baked colors.
38:10You want to make sure that blue is not too blue.
38:13I mean, that's impressive.
38:15I mean, everything about it looks so real.
38:17They did that so well with the pie shop, with the greenery shop.
38:21Like those little magical moments you see during Christmas time that just make it feel a little more festive.
38:26I mean, we got the reigning national champ.
38:28Like we need to get this title too, right?
38:32Yeah.
38:32I mean, $100,000 is, it's a lot of money and it would be great.
38:37But I think we really need to be really proud of what we did.
38:41Oh, absolutely.
38:41Like, okay, let's go give someone $100,000, shall we?
38:47Let's do it.
38:47All right.
38:48Okay.
38:53Okay, gingerbreaders, gather up.
38:55The judges have made their decision.
39:00Team Coastal, what would winning mean to you guys and your families?
39:04I've said that I would love to pay off my mortgage.
39:08I have seven payments left.
39:11So that would be nice.
39:12And just to complete that.
39:14Thank you guys for sharing that.
39:16So Team Ville, you guys have been on the edge of being sent home twice, but you have persevered.
39:21As a team, what are you guys most proud of?
39:22I've not had too many partnerships with people where I can take something that I've created with my hands that I'm very proud of and hand it to another person and trust that they're going to make it look better than even I could.
39:35So I have that with both of these women and I'm very, very proud of what we have done.
39:40And I think that it's just the beginning.
39:42We are all bonded together now in friendship, in artistry, in talent.
39:49I think that...
39:49And just respect for each other.
39:51Team Shelley.
39:52So when you guys first walked through the doors, could you imagine that you were even standing here at this moment?
39:58I think I've been waiting for this moment.
40:01I'm living my American dream.
40:04I'm super happy with Aline and Susan because they are super talented.
40:09And I think we are going to inspire a lot of people to know that you can succeed when you do things with passion.
40:18My mind is completely blown.
40:19All of you women are magic makers and I'm just so proud of you.
40:25You're amazing.
40:31Okay, gingerbreaders, it's time.
40:34It's only one team can claim the prize of $100,000.
40:39The winner and the champion of gingerbread land.
40:42The biggest little holiday competition.
40:46It is.
40:48Team Coastal.
40:59Team Coastal.
41:01We won!
41:02We won!
41:03We won!
41:11We won!
41:13We won!
41:14Are you kidding?
41:16$100,000!
41:18Team Coastal are the winners.
41:21You brought your world to life like nobody else.
41:24Oh, my God.
41:25How do we feel?
41:27Absolutely stunned.
41:29We're like, when you do things from the bottom of your heart
41:32and from joy, people see it.
41:35What this shows is that when you work with people that you
41:38love and you create something you love, it shows.
41:42And so, with their gingerbread lands complete,
41:45our sweet story ends.
41:47Happy holidays to all and to all a good night.
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