[title]
In this charming New York City village, Santa drives a taxi, a nutcracker runs a hot dog cart and snowmen hang out at the Snoball Fight Club. The local cafe sells North Pole Holiday Blend hot chocolate, polar bears run the neighborhood bagel shop and the I Want a Hippopotamus Gift Store does a bustling business. This is GingerBread Lane, a confectionary creation by Jon Lovitch who holds the record for the world’s largest gingerbread village.
You can step into Lovitch’s whimsical world inside The Shops at Columbus Circle. Find this four-tiered gingerbread village on the second floor of the mall. It’s free to visit and will be on view through January 5, 2025. If you want to learn to make your own gingerbread house, Lovitch is hosting classes for $35 per person; you can grab a ticket here.
RECOMMENDED: Christmas in New York: Best things to do for a magical time this holiday season
Each year, Lovitch combines his experience as a chef and baker to create GingerBread Village. It's a year-long process during which he turns the basement of his Queens home into a workshop packed with gingerbread creations on every imaginable surface. He shops for expired candies each holiday season to transform inedible treats into a visual spectacle. By the fall of each year, he's working 100-hour weeks to finish every intricate detail.
This year, his display has found a home in Columbus Circle where you can walk through shelf after shelf of his artistry, admiring the details at eye level. Just remember: Look and don't touch!
"It's the easiest it's ever been to get up close to the display," Lovitch tells Time Out New York. "We tried to pay homage to the rich culture history that abounds in this neighborhood. We did everything we could to try to bring New York City into GingerBread Lane."
Given the cultural relevance of the neighborhood as a center for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Lovitch added an even bigger turkey to the display. As an homage to the nearby Lincoln Center and its famed Nutcracker ballet, even more gingerbread nutcrackers fill the scene. A subway sign looks reminiscent of the Columbus Circle station.
Given the size and scale of the display, we wanted to discover some of the facts and figures that make GingerBread Lane what it is, and the numbers of gobsmacking.
NYC's GingerBread Lane by the numbers
23,000 jelly beans
12,0000 M&Ms
3,500 sticks of gum
1,920 pounds of icing
1,120 candy canes
780 gingerbread structures
700 egg whites
520 square feet of gingerbread
425 pounds of candy
800 hours of labor
20 pounds of food coloring
1 Gingerbread Man — Jon Lovitch!
