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One of the most beloved aspects of the holiday season is on display — in a big way — at Darnall's Chance House Museum in Upper Marlboro.

The annual Gingerbread House Show and Contest gives local residents an opportunity to keep the holiday spirit going strong over three weekends, and many of the houses on display look as if they are made from custom-made plastic or wooden pieces, except for the indistinguishable smell of gingerbread and peppermint permeating the room.

House manager Susan Reidy began the event 10 years ago as a way to celebrate the holiday season and draw people to the museum, and she picked gingerbread houses for the historical component, she said.

"Gingerbread is a very old food. It was first served in the Middle Ages, and in the 19th century, people began making houses out of it," she said. "People who lived at Darnall's Chance in the 19th century probably made gingerbread houses."

It's one of the very few gingerbread house shows in the region — there's one in Annapolis and on the Eastern Shore, Reidy said, and entries come from both Prince George's County and across state lines.

But this could be the last year for the show and contest if entries don't increase, organizers say, and they're asking attendees if they're interested in participating in next year's event.

Reidy said the contest typically receives 25 to 35 entries, but although this year's nine is an all-time low, the show remains popular for visitors from near and far, with about 1,300 attending every year.

Nearly 350 visited during the show's opening weekend, starting the day after Thanksgiving.

"During the first weekend of the show, it's a nice way to continue the holiday spirit," Reidy said.

Entries by children and adults are judged separately, and attendees can vote throughout the show for their favorite house in each category. The viewers' choice winners take home $250.

Mary Elliott, 43, of Timonium has submitted entries on and off for five years. This year, she created a gingerbread nativity scene, which took second place.

"I just love gingerbread," she said. "Since I was a teenager, I made little houses and kept doing it because it was fun. It's a creative outlet for me."

Many gingerbread houses in the show don't fit the traditional mold of four-side houses with candy roofs. One entry depicted space creatures celebrating their version of Christmas in space. Another is a tribute to the board game "Candy Land," and one of the child entries is a reconstruction of a movie theater.

Elliott said the gingerbread house show is a great opportunity for her to flex her creativity muscles.

"I still do the candy-covered houses with my kids and it's a lot of fun, but for these kinds of events I like to come up with something a little different and push it a little further to see what I can do," Elliott said.

Elliott's 7-year-old daughter, Catherine, entered her own gingerbread house for the first time this year, and she incorporated mermaids and other underwater themes into her entry.

"My sisters and my mother did it, and I wanted to do it because I thought it would be fun," she said.

She added "it feels awesome" to know that so many visitors will be seeing the outcome of her hard work.

Some of the entries took months to make. Mary Elliott said if attendees are thinking of creating a house, they shouldn't be intimidated by how intricate some of the show's entries are.

"It's not as hard as you think it is, if you just let you imagination go," she said.

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.

IF YOU GO

10th annual Gingerbread House Contest and Show

When: Noon to 5 p.m., Thursday to Sunday

Where: Darnall's Chance House Museum, 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro

Admission: $1

Information: 301-952-8010