The Gingerbread House Project

It’s nearly here, the most wonderful time of the year… Christmas! But as December quickly approaches, you might find yourself wondering exactly what the festivities will be like for us in 2020. There’s no denying that it has been a rocky year. Many, if not all, of us have faced uncertainty, and with the current nationwide lockdown in place, it might be difficult for you to imagine what the yuletide season will be like for you and your family once we come out the other side.

Here at Chums, we believe that even though we may not be able to carry on with our usual Christmas traditions this year, there’s no reason why we can’t be together, even if we’re apart. That’s why we’re launching our Gingerbread House Project - a creative, unique way for families and friends to enjoy some wholesome festive fun and celebrate together this yuletide in a bid to beat the blues and spread some much needed Christmas cheer. What makes this campaign even more special is that you can get involved too - and you could even win a prize if you really impress us with your baking skills!

The rules are easy. Simply bake and decorate your very own gingerbread house, send us a photo of it and you’ll be entered into our amazing Gingerbread House Project competition. You’ll be in with the chance of winning a fantastic Christmas hamper worth £100, or one of our two brilliant runner up prizes.

So what are you waiting for? Get your apron and mixing bowl at the ready! To take it up a notch, you could even challenge your loved ones to your own contest via video chat and vote who has made the best gingerbread house!

The prize

One lucky winner will receive a gorgeous hamper worth £100, and two runner ups will also win an amazing prize each.

How to enter

Simply bake and decorate your very own gingerbread house, complete with all the chocolate buttons, sweets, candy canes and colourful icing you can find in the cupboards. We want you to be as creative as possible. When you’ve finished your baking masterpiece, snap a photo of it (from it’s best angle, of course) and submit it in a comment on our Facebook post. The closing date for our Gingerbread House Project is 13/12/2020, and the lucky winners will be announced on 18/12/2020.

Make your own Christmas ginger bread

It’s not cheating if we give you a great gingerbread recipe to use, right? Follow our tried and tested step-by-step instructions below to perfect your own gingerbread house.

The timings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 10 minutes

The ingredients

● 375g plain flour

● 3 tsps ground ginger

● 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

● 120g unsalted butter, cold and cubed

● 175g light brown sugar

● 5 tbsps golden syrup

● 1 large egg

The recipe

1. Preheat your oven to 190C/180C Fan and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, add the plain flour, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda, and then add the cold, cubed butter. 

3. Using your hands, rub the ingredients together until it resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Next, mix in the sugar followed by the golden syrup and egg. Use your hands, or a spatula if you’d prefer, to combine the ingredients until it becomes a smooth dough. 

5. Gently knead the dough for a few minutes, then take it out of the bowl and place it on a clean, lightly floured surface.

6. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to about 1-2cm in thickness. You can then cut out your desired shapes, placing each one the lined baking sheets as you go. Think about the shape of the house you’ll be creating, cutting out pieces that can be used for the walls and roof.

7. Bake the gingerbread in the oven for 10-12 minutes, then place on a wire rack until cool.

8. Your gingerbread is ready! Use thick icing, such as royal icing, to stick the pieces of your gingerbread house together, and don’t forget extra icing for any sweets or chocolate you’re going to add too.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR CHUMS ‘WINTER HAMPER’COMPETITION

Information on how to enter the Chums ‘Winter Hamper’ competition form part of these Terms and Conditions:

1. Participation in this promotion via the method of interaction stated in the social post, is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

2. By submitting an entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

3. Failure to comply with any part of this clause will disqualify the entry from the promotion.

4. The Promoter is Chums (CHUMS, Unity Grove, Knowsley Business Park, Liverpool, L34 9AR).

5. Customers will automatically be entered into the draw to win a ‘Winter Products Hamper’, (value £100) by following the method of entry on the Facebook post, shared on 12/11/2020.

6. Only one entry per person is valid using a validated social media account. Where more than one entry is made only the first entry will be deemed as valid.

7. Entries will be subject to moderation and entrants found to use multiple, bulk or falsified accounts to enter will be automatically disqualified.

8. The competition will run between 1pm on 12/11/2020 and  1pm and 13/12/2020 (inclusive), with entries only accepted during this time period.

9. One winner and two runners up will be selected by Chums, these winners will be selected based on the personal opinions of the team at Chums as to how creative the gingerbread house creation is on 18/12/2020, from the social post entries.

10. The prize is non-refundable, non-transferable and non-changeable.

11. The Promoter reserves the right in its absolute discretion to substitute another prize of similar or greater value.

12. Only those persons who are resident in the UK and aged 18 or over are eligible to enter this competition.

13. Employees of the Promoter (Chums), any of the Promoter’s agencies and any of their parent, subsidiary and/or affiliate companies as well as their immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible to enter. The Promoter reserves the right to verify entrants’ eligibility.

14. By participating in the promotion, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to and accept these Terms and Conditions and the decisions of the Promoter, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Competition.

15. The winner will be notified with a comment on the Facebook post requesting them to privately message the Chums account with their name, address and telephone number.

16. The prize will be dispatched to the winner within fourteen working days of their contact details being shared. [Proof of postage will be held by Chums]

17. In the event that the winner does not make contact for any reason within seven days of the selection process date, the Promoter reserves the right to randomly select an alternative winner. The Promoter will not be responsible for any inability to contact a winner.

18. The Promoter may also require the winner to participate in reasonable publicity.

19. Details of the winners will be available by private messaging the Chums Facebook channel.

20. Any entry from a person under the age of 18 will be disqualified. The Promoter’s decision is final.

21. The Promoter reserves the right to amend or withdraw this competition if circumstances arise which are beyond its control.

22. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the operation of the competition or to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law and, should such an attempt be made, the Promoter reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Promoter’s failure to enforce any of these Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

23. Information collected from entrants will only be used for the purposes of entry into the promotion and for sending out the prize and will not be disclosed to a third party, without the individual’s prior consent.

24. These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

25. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to the Promoter and not to these social channels. Entrants agree that Facebook shall have no liability in respect of this draw.