Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Lilly.
Hi Kristine, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in what I like to call a gingerbread household. When I was a child, my mother made gingerbread houses and sent them to our classrooms each December. I vividly remember all of us staring at the gingerbread house throughout the month, waiting for the final class party when we could finally break it apart and eat the candy. It was Christmas magic, and it became one of those wonderful childhood memories that never left me.
At the height of COVID in December 2020, I was struggling. Two of my children were serving in the military, the bases were locked down, and none of my children could come home for Christmas. I was sad and worried about how families would experience any sense of joy when people couldn’t safely gather. Then the idea came to me: What if I turned my entire home into a gingerbread house? Families could simply drive by and enjoy a little Christmas magic together without having to interact with anyone. That was how the Gingerbread House in Kyle was born.
That first year, I made the candy and icing decorations from foam and Styrofoam—and quickly discovered that Texas winds are not kind to Styrofoam candy. I spent a good amount of time chasing pieces through the neighborhood! Despite that, traffic began building in front of the house, and I realized all those visitors created an opportunity to do something more. I placed large collection bins outside with signs asking anyone who enjoyed the display to donate canned goods to the Hays County Food Bank. Soon, I was overwhelmed—in the very best way—and making almost daily trips to deliver all the food people had donated.
From there, one idea led to another. My husband, Robert, became Santa, waving to children through their car windows. I found an old bench beside the road, spray-painted it, and turned it into a place where Santa could sit while wearing his santa suit and mask! Somehow, our simple drive-by display just kept growing. The 2026 season will mark seven years of gingerbread magic, and we add a little something new each year. I am still genuinely surprised and deeply grateful that families continue to visit our little gingerbread house. What began as my attempt to create some joy during a very lonely Christmas has become a tradition that brings our community together and gives us a way to help others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For the most part, it has been a wonderfully smooth and joyful road. My biggest challenge is simply that I’m getting older, and climbing ladders to transform a two-story home into a gingerbread house gets a little harder every year. There is a great deal of physical work involved in making, installing, repairing, and storing all the decorations—but somehow, each year, we manage to make the display a little bigger.
Thankfully, I have a wonderful neighborhood filled with children who have grown up alongside the Gingerbread House. Some of the children were in first or second grade when I started, and now they are teenagers who return to volunteer and work as elves. Our junior elves volunteer to hand out free candy canes, while the senior elves are paid positions that help with the larger production. Watching these children grow up and take on bigger roles has been one of the most unexpected and rewarding parts of the entire experience. The work may get harder for me, but I now have a new generation helping to carry the magic forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Creativity has always been a part of who I am. I completed my first oil painting at six years old, began playing piano around eight, and picked up the guitar as a teenager. My interests have always crossed different artistic mediums, from visual art and music to baking, design, and fragrance. I still play guitar almost every day, and it seems I am nearly always creating something.
Today, my work includes a signature candle line, highly decorative gingerbread and sugar cookies, and custom gingerbread houses. I especially enjoy projects that have a personal story behind them. A few years ago, a customer asked me to recreate her childhood home using old photographs. I designed and constructed the entire house in gingerbread, carefully reproducing the details that made it recognizable to her. She loved it so much that she preserved it and now brings it out each year as a decoration for her annual Christmas party. She still sends me photographs showing how beautifully it has held up.
I think what sets my work apart is the amount of thought, detail, and emotion I put into everything I create. I am not interested in simply making something attractive; I want it to evoke a memory, tell a story, or make someone feel special. Whether I am designing a candle, decorating a cookie, building a custom gingerbread house, or transforming my own home for the community, my greatest joy comes from creating something that becomes meaningful to another person.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
The Gingerbread House has never been about recognition or creating a business. It is simply something my family and I give to the community. There is no admission charge, the candy canes are free, and any donations collected are used to help others. My hope has always been that a family can drive by, forget about the difficult things in life for a few minutes, and experience a little Christmas magic together.
What continues to amaze me is how generously people respond when they are given an opportunity to help. This began as one person trying to create joy during a lonely Christmas, but it has grown into something the neighborhood and community now help bring to life.
Pricing:
- Free
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegingerbreadhouseinkyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gingerbread_house_in_kyle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DViWF9TZL/
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/h1GaoK7XnoFmnSE79
