Gingerbread on the tree: how to keep it lovely until Christmas

The first time we hung gingerbread on a fir branch, the question wasn't whether it looked beautiful. The question was whether it would still be there at Christmas.

Gingerbread, you see, is a delicate thing. It doesn't spoil, but it does change: it draws moisture from the air, and if it gets too much, it softens, bends and loses the fine crunch that makes it so lovely. With a few careful steps, though, it will last through the whole of Advent – and well beyond.

Why it goes soft

Honey and sugar bind moisture. During baking that is a blessing, but afterwards it works against us: in a steamy kitchen, near a radiator or in a freshly aired room, the gingerbread disc soaks up moisture within a few days.

This is not a flaw, nor is it spoiling. It is simply what happens to everything that is real.

What to do

Somewhere dry. Keep the tree away from radiators, humidifiers and the kitchen door. This is the most important step, and also the easiest.

An airy ribbon. Let the gingerbread hang freely, not wedged between two branches. Where the air doesn't circulate, moisture collects.

Don't wrap it back in plastic. Putting the gingerbread back in a bag to protect it only seals the moisture in. If you need to put it away, a paper bag or a well-ventilated box is better.

If it has gone soft anyway. A few minutes in an oven at 80–100 °C will bring back its crispness. Let it cool completely before hanging it back up – while warm, it breaks easily.

Gingerbread doesn't spoil. It just slowly takes on the air of the room it lives in.

What stays on our tree

There are two tiny slits at the top of the GALAMBOM discs. It's a detail that is easy to overlook, yet the whole thing was designed around it: the satin ribbon runs through them, and that is why the gingerbread can be hung up without having to drill into it or glue anything onto it.

Each disc is roughly eight centimetres across and barely eight millimetres thick. Large enough for the design to stay clearly visible, and thin enough to stay crisp – it took us a long time to find this balance.

With our Advent package this is especially lovely: twenty-four boxes, twenty-four days, and by the end of the month twenty-four decorations on the tree. What is still a calendar on the first of December will have become tree decorations by Christmas Eve.

And afterwards?

Many people ask how long it stays edible. The answer: the gingerbread has a long shelf life, but after weeks on the tree it is better suited as a decoration than as a treat – air, light and handling all leave their mark on it.

We think that is just as it should be. Some things are beautiful because they get used up; others because they stay with us for a while, and then we let them go. Gingerbread hanging on the tree lives somewhere between the two, and perhaps that is exactly what is good about it.

You'll find our Christmas range here, and we have also written separately about the Advent package.