Ready, set, decorate! Registration for downtown Bethlehem’s Gingerbread Games is now open. Participants are invited to decorate two-foot tall gingerbread shaped cutouts which the city will display in December. The best decorated gingerbread will win a $100 downtown Bethlehem gift certificate.

The Downtown Bethlehem Association (DBA) originally created The Gingerbread Games last year as a fun way for families to enjoy a socially distant holiday activity during the height of the pandemic. The Fab Lab at Northampton Community College created dozens of wooden Gingerbread Friends for participants to decorate. The event was so successful that the DBA decided to make it an annual tradition. “We love celebrating holiday traditions in Bethlehem. The more the merrier. We are the Christmas City, after all!” said DBA Manager Tammy Wendling.

To participate, you must order your Gingerbread Friend from the Heart of Bethlehem website by Nov. 22. Each one costs $30 and supplies are extremely limited. Decorate it at home, then drop it off at the DBA office. The DBA will display the completed gingerbread people from Dec. 1 through 21 near the Christmas Huts on Main and the path leading to Christmas in the Quarter at the Colonial Industrial Quarter. The public will vote for their favorites online.

When visitors check out the gingerbread artwork, they’ll also be able to help select the winners in Bethlehem’s annual window decorating competition.