Fairytale characters Hansel and Gretel couldn't resist the lure of a house made of candy — and neither can children at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Few hotel guests pass the traditional Christmas gingerbread house on display in the lobby without snapping a photograph (or secretly poking their finger in the icing).

Executive Chef, Thomas Frost, this year's Visitor Industry Partnership (VIP) awards Chef of the Year, oversaw the construction of the gingerbread house, an annual tradition at the hotel.

"We were trying to beat what we did last year," he said. "We really went a bit wild with it."

And he said as with any dream home, the hardest part was getting the dough together to build it.

The slightly upmarket version of the 'Hansel and Gretel' fairytale candy house required 100 lbs of gingerbread dough, and 30 lbs of icing sugar to act as glue — probably equalling the weight of Hansel and Gretel themselves.

The executive pastry chef Serge Leibowitch started to get the design together as early as October.

The result was a house that looks like a wooden cabin — not the rustic, hunting cabin, but the kind of million dollar log cabin usually owned by out-of-towners.

It has two storeys, snow in the front yard, various animals and gingerbread people, and pretzels as railings.

"First we needed the inspiration," said Mr. Frost. "We were looking through children's books and liked the look of the house in the fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel'."

Before starting, Mr. Frost and a team of six chefs had to build a box frame, because the Bermuda humidity breaks down gingerbread.

"Then we made the gingerbread," said Mr. Frost. We cut it into bricks, walls and tiles and baked it."

The gingerbread was stuck to the frame with icing sugar, which dries to the consistency of cement.

Each member of the team spent about two and a half weeks working on it.

When the gingerbread house was finally completed the next challenge was getting it to the hotel lobby.

"We had to get it into an elevator and down a stairwell," said Mr. Frost. "In the end we had to break it into three pieces. It was like the house edition of the television show, 'Extreme Makeover'."

Mr. Frost said although it took a lot of work to make the gingery architectural marvel, they had a lot of fun along the way.

"A lot of people would come in every day to see the progression,' said Mr. Frost, who said the secret to making the gingerbread house was imagination.

"You have to have a passion and commitment to do it," he said. "You can't do it half-heartedly. You also have to have a vision. You have to know what it is going to look like before you put your hands on it."

And also like many dream homes, after going on display it continued to be high maintenance.

"The only hurricanes this house experiences are the little kids that come in every week and start poking at it," said Mr. Frost.

"Monday morning we have to go in with a pipe and bag of icing to fix the holes they have left."

The gingerbread house is the centrepiece of the hotel's Third Annual Children's Teddy Bear Tea.

"The gingerbread house really gives it the atmosphere," said Rehanna Palumbo, director of Sales and Marketing.

"We were happy to be able to continue doing the teddy bear tea, because it was very successful last year," said Mrs. Palumbo.

The tea is called a 'teddy bear' tea because children who take part are asked to bring a brand-new teddy bear or stuffed toy, to leave under a tree. Last year the charity donated more than 200 teddy bears to charity.

The tea runs from now until December 23. It is served daily between 2.30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Santa Claus joins the festivities on Saturdays and Sundays at 3.30 p.m. for storytelling.

Children's etiquette classes, which were introduced last year, will also be offered again on Sundays at 2.30 p.m. .

The child-friendly menu for the Teddy Bear Tea includes peanut butter and jelly white-bread pinwheels, roasted tom turkey sandwiches with cranberry mayonnaise on whole-wheat triangles, fresh-fruit skewer with yogurt dipper, Christmas-tree cookies, gingerbread man with candy cane, Smarties cupcake, chocolate milk egg-nog or choice of soda.

"The Teddy Bear Tea has become a favourite holiday tradition," said Mrs. Palumbo. "We created the event especially for children with the magic of the season in mind.

"With the Christmas tree, our beautiful gingerbread house and all the twinkling decorations, it's a really special way for families and friends to celebrate the holidays together.

"And the biggest delight, of course, is the arrival of Santa for storytelling on Saturdays and Sundays. Seeing it through the eyes of the children is a wonderful experience for everyone."

Children's etiquette classes on Sundays are led by Bermudian protocol expert Trudy Snaith, founder and director of Bermuda's Executive School of Protocol.

The class starts with a short group session followed by one-on-one instruction to discuss how to enjoy the company of other people using good behaviour and manners in settings such as an afternoon tea.

Penelope's Bear will also attend the Sunday etiquette classes and children can have their pictures taken with her if they wish.

Each child enrolled in the etiquette class will take home a souvenir booklet as a reminder of the event and the new things they have learned.

The Teddy Bear Tea is $19 for children under 12-years-old who donate a new teddy bear or $25 for children without teddy bears to donate.

The Sunday Teddy Bear Tea and etiquette class combination is $35 for children who donate a teddy bear. Adults attending the Teddy Bear Tea are $35.

A gratuity of 17 percent will be added. Reservations are required and can be made through the hotel's concierge on 298-5779. Local residents who wish to create a special family event may also include an overnight stay at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

For more information and room reservations, call the hotel at 298-5717.