TWIN LAKES — For the last four years one of the highlights of the Brockway family’s Christmas season has been a visit to Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Lake Geneva to view the wondrous candy houses.

This year, rather than marvel over the creations of others, parents Jan and Steve and children Jake, 9, and Maddy, 6, decided it was time to add their own cottage to the visual feast.

“We figured, why not make our own,” Jan Brockway said. “So we started brainstorming.”

The Twin Lakes family found inspiration everywhere — online, at the grocery store, in nature. They opted for an “up north” theme, giving their cottage a northern Wisconsin feel. To create the look they used pretzels for logs.

A peppermint star path lined with candy canes leads to the mini-Hershey candy bar door, which is flanked by Hershey shutters. Skating just beyond the path on a blue-food-colored pond are two gingerbread cookie people.

Their biggest challenge was the roof. With a deadline looming, they struggled to come up with the perfect solution. Pretzels? Too heavy. Graham crackers? Way too heavy. Eventually Steve hit on it — lasagna noodles. Jake suggested dying them green to resemble a metal roof. Jake also was responsible for the marshmallow snowmen and northern Wisconsin theme. Maddy gets credit for the fire pit, which features a candy corn fire.

Jake and Maddy did 80 percent of the work, with Jan and Steve helping on the more complex construction details. For the entire family, the most enjoyable aspect wasn’t the building process but rather the preparation.

“When we were brainstorming, that was the most fun,” Jan said. “There were a few days there when we were all little architects.”

The Grand Geneva’s Gingerbread House Display generally is up through the holiday season, but people who made the houses can take them whenever they want. Houses are made by area residents, in amateur and professional, adult and child categories. For more information, call 800-558-3417. The resort is located at 7036 Grand Geneva Way.