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Grab your imagination, Winchester, it’s gingerbread house making time!
On Dec. 7, the Muraco Elementary School Parent Association (MESPA) is hosting its first community event — a morning of making gingerbread houses, hot chocolate and snacks and holiday music.
It’s a first for the parent organization.
“We do a lot of events that build community,” said MESPA Co-President Julie Chmielecki. “And a lot of schools run gingerbread events. We have one afternoon for the students, where everyone decorates a house.
“Then we realized we had a lot of families who wanted to take part in the event,” she added. “There were a lot of younger siblings who wanted to participate. That’s when we had the idea to run a community event, primarily for the younger siblings and families.”
Chmielecki said Winchester really seems to love making gingerbread houses so this was a natural fit for MESPA.
“It was very well received because everyone loves to decorate gingerbread houses,” she said, with a laugh. “It’s such fun to see the kids who throw the candy on or the adults who do intricate designs.”
MESPA Co-President Alyssa Loring Tirella said the event will also help the Muraco school community.
“I’m very excited about offering such a fun and festive event, with proceeds going to benefit the kids and teachers at Muraco,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize that the School Department doesn’t include a budget for field trips or enrichment activities, which can bring to life what the students are learning about in the classroom. Because of this, the PTOs fundraise to make that enrichment happen. Each elementary school in Winchester spends at least $20K of PTO funds for enrichment activities across K-5, which all comes from fundraising.”
Getting a plan in gear
Once it was decided to hold the event, Chmielecki and Loring Tirella had a month to plan everything.
First, Chmielecki said, was finding a place. The duo approached the Sons of Italy, looking for a location and date.
“The Sons of Italy was great,” Chmielecki said. “They really helped us find a space for a large number of people.”
That date was set for Dec. 7 at the 117 Swanton St. location, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Next, Chmielecki went to Leo Khadyak, of Keys By Khadyak, about tickling the ivories and providing holiday music for the event-goers. He was all in.
And while MESPA volunteers were also ready to jump in to help out, Chmielecki said it just wouldn’t be enough. So she tapped members of the Winchester High School National Honor Society (NHS) to help, as well.
“The students will be helping us with set up and clean out,” she said. “And they’re going to be helping out, in general. It’s a real community event.”
The first MESPA gingerbread house making event on Dec. 7 is for all ages, from the tiniest of tots to those are kids at heart and everyone in between. COURTESY PHOTOS/JULIE CHMIELECKI
Chmielecki said it’s not the first time the NHS kids have lent a helping hand to MESPA. She said they provided volunteers at the fall festival to do face painting and crafts.
“They really helped out,” she said, of the fall event. “And the younger kids really look up to the high school kids.”
She added that Market Basket’s corporate office also made a donation to help MESPA purchase all the supplies it might need for the event.
Overall, Chmielecki said the event came together very quickly.
The event
Chmielecki said there will be no prizes given this year, although that could be a feature of any future events.
The houses will cost $45 each. They will come pre-assembled and MESPA will provide all the candy, icing and other goodies used to decorate.
Chmielecki said families can purchase as many houses as they want.
“We wanted something that was not cost prohibitive,” she said, of the pricing of the event. “We wanted to make it easy for the community to participate.”
There will also be a hot chocolate bar and snack table with items to purchase.
The only thing anyone wanting to participate has to do is to register.
“We really need to have a numbers so we can get enough chairs for people to sit down and decorate,” Chmielecki said.
Chmielecki said it’s important that anyone wishing to attend register soon. MESPA has already seen an uptick of people registering, now that Thanksgiving is over.
She added this is not a drop-off event for children.
With the event taking place on Sunday, Loring Tirella said she’s really looking forward to it.
“I know that this is going to be a really fun morning to kick off the holiday season, and I can’t wait to see what everyone creates!” she said. “All ages are welcome, and we’re asking that everyone pre-register. Thanks in advance for your support on behalf of the Muraco PTO!”
Chmielecki is also excited.
“It’s a snowball of excitement because everyone loves gingerbread houses!" she said. "A lot of families are looking for something to participate in together during the holiday season.”
Nell Escobar Coakley has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gotta Know Medford and editor of Winchester News. She can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
