Decorating the house for Christmas

Rosa True (4) and Alfie Yeo (2) decorate gingerbread houses at Happiness House in Queenstown yesterday. The houses will be distributed to some of Queenstown's struggling families as an extra Christmas treat. Photo by Felicity Wolfe.
Rosa True (4) and Alfie Yeo (2) decorate gingerbread houses at Happiness House in Queenstown yesterday. The houses will be distributed to some of Queenstown's struggling families as an extra Christmas treat. Photo by Felicity Wolfe.
A group of children worked hard yesterday building special treats for Queenstown families facing a tough Christmas.

Eight gingerbread houses were decorated by future chefs Rosa True (4), Alfie Yeo (2), Jemima Meegan (10) and Craig Visser (10) at community support centre Happiness House.

The houses were made by the Otago Polytech Cromwell campus chef course lecturer Chris Smith and former student Megan Sorenson, who is now the head chef at the Waitiri Creek vineyard.

Mr Smith said the polytechnic had been thinking of doing "something nice for Christmas" and decided to give the decorated gingerbread treats to families needing "something special" for Christmas.

The pair helped the children "cement" the bright licorice allsorts, pebbles and candy canes to the houses with special extra-hard white icing.

The gingerbread houses will be distributed to some of the regular Happiness House families along with a special Christmas hamper of donated food and gifts.