Nittany Lion Inn Gingerbread Replica

I was on campus for a meeting on Monday morning, and took a few minutes to walk through the Nittany Lion Inn.

Nobody does Christmas like the Inn! A huge Christmas tree is on display in the one rotunda, and wreaths and poinsettias and red ribbons are everywhere.

Every year, a gingerbread model of the Inn itself is created and displayed in the few weeks prior to Christmas, on a table near the dining room (the dining room serves an absolutely divine lobster bisque, by the way, but I digress . . . ).

The level of detail on the gingerbread replica is astounding, and I stop to admire it every time I visit: windows, balconies, doors, wreaths, miniature trees - all there, all just like real life - only much, much smaller.

There is always a sign near the gingerbread replica reminding us not to touch. This year the whole thing seemed intact.

Last year, however, a gumdrop thief apparently walked among us: on several occasions, I saw gumdrops missing, then they were replaced, then others disappeared. Just another of the many mysteries of the holiday season, I guess.