Newcomers Holiday Event at Masonic Lodge Builds Family Tradition

Display it, share it, eat it, or even smash it post holidays – one thing is sure about the Holliston Newcomers and Neighbors Annual Gingerbread Workshop – it’s become a town tradition. The event was held in three sittings on December 14, 2019 at the Mt. Hollis Masonic Lodge on Washington Street.
Young Liam and his brother, Aidan, have been attending the event for three years. Both of them planned to pick their favorite candies off their gingerbread house creation as the holidays approached.
Mac, aged 11, and his younger siblings Keira, 8, and Cliffy, 8, all contributed to creating their sweet family masterpiece, which, charmingly, they planned to smash to bits with a meat tenderizer following a happy holiday.
“It’s a tradition,” said an enthusiastic Mac, whose mother laughed and admitted was the case.
Others had a more traditional plan for their family decoration.
“We’ll use it as a decoration and leave it up on the table after Christmas,” said Greta, 9, whose father, Frank, had joined her, her sister Amelia, 6, and Mom, Amanda, in the gingerbread decorating for the first time this year. Before this year, it was just the girls, but Dad noted he enjoyed the event.
Danica Vecchione, 11, attends the event each year now with her father, Paul Vecchione, who says the annual event is just one of the things he likes to do with Danica, among baking with her and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This year, he says, the houses were a bit smaller, which made decorating the whole thing a bit more manageable. The two planned to leave their gingerbread house up until their Christmas tree came down.
“This is a great event, and the Masons are great to donate the space for the community to come together,” says Vecchione.
For cousins Cooper, 6, Cole, 7, Casey, 5 and Ellie, 9, this event was a fun shared day. Although the girls have done it with their Moms, sisters-in-law Nicole and Katie for three years, the boys joined in later and now they all enjoy the fun.
“Each year it gets more intense,” says Nicole. This group decorated three gingerbread houses, one for each of their homes, and one for their Nana’s house. When asked where the creations would go once the holidays were over, Ellie’s response? “In our stomachs!”
Only one set of decorators that Local Town Pages spoke with were attending the Gingerbread event for their first year. This was Jessica, 8, and her Dad, Chris. Jessica planned on taking her confectionary cottage home to share with her twin.
The budding culinary artists were all outfitted with an initial supply of candy treats with which to decorate, but if they ran out, Holliston Newcomers volunteer Tricia Benson provided some sweet supplementation to participants at the refill station.
Silver Sponsor of the event was Tink’s Magical Vacation, represented by “reindeer for the day,” Donna Goyette, who sold $1 hot chocolate to benefit Holliston Pantry Shelf.
Proceeds from this event benefit the Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors Grant Fund. In 2019, these funds helped support the Holliston Summer Concerts in the Park, Holliston Public Library Museum Passes, Holliston Police Department, Conservation Associates, and the Marigold Project’s Downtown Hanging Baskets.
For more information on Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors, visit hollistonnewcomers.org or find them on Facebook.
For more information about the Mt. Hollis Lodge, which will be holding its next monthly breakfast from 8-11 a.m. on January 5, 2020, visit www.mthollis.org.