This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at UCLA chapter.

Photo by Alison Hewitt

Students of UCLA found festive surprises waiting for them as they entered the dining halls the weeks before winter break. UCLA’s bakery team delivered special-made gingerbread versions of some of campus’s most well-known buildings, including Royce Hall, Kerckhoff Hall, Powell Library, and Haines Hall.

These over-the-top holiday decorations have become an annual tradition on The Hill (UCLA’s on campus living location). Students just could not resist these sweet decorations, often crowding around to snap a picture on their phones as they came into the dining hall.

Executive Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell designed and cut all the gingerbread to craft the mini-UCLA buildings. Ruskell decorated Royce, assistant pastry chef James Brannon took Kerckhoff, and the other half-dozen members of the swing shift turned Powell and Haines into sugar-covered visions. Each building took approximately 10-12 hours.

“Gingerbread is really a lot of fun to work with because there’s nothing you can do that’s wrong,” Ruskell said. “If we didn’t have a cut-off date, we might never stop. You can find something new to decorate every day.”

Check out these impressive recreations for yourself.