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500-Pound Chocolate Gingerbread House Unveiled At The White House

A whole lotta yum.
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

The gargantuan gingerbread house that’s now taking center stage in the White House’s State Dining Room is no ordinary confection.

Modeled after the White House itself and designed by Executive Pastry Chef Susan Morrison, the saccharine structure is made of a whopping 250 pounds of gingerbread, 150 pounds of chocolate and another 75 pounds of sugar and other baking ingredients.

Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

This year’s White House Gingerbread House is unique from its predecessors.

As the Associated Press notes, this one is covered in dark chocolate, “instead of white chocolate as in years past.”

Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the giant gingerbread house to the public, along with the rest of the festive decor that’s adorning 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this holiday season.

Among the many decorations are 62 fir trees with over 70,000 ornaments; larger-than-life replicas of Bo and Sunny, the Obamas’ dogs; and a gathering of “snow people” on the White House grounds.

Several top designers, including Carolina Herrera and Humberto Leon, as well as dozens of volunteers, took part in the effort of getting the White House picture-perfect for the holidays, according to a news release.

“The holidays really are an all-hands-on-deck time frame for us, where every single shop in the house has to step up, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work has to take place before we get to the actual finished product that we all get to enjoy,” Angella Reid, the chief White House usher, told The New York Times of the holiday preparations. “Our mission is really to make sure that whatever we do is unseen. I sometimes describe it as Disney -- you throw the pixie dust, and it all looks perfect.”

Approximately 68,000 guests are expected to visit the White House this holiday season.

Scroll down for a glimpse of this year's White House holiday decorations:

The Library on the ground floor of the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: Associated Press
The Library on the ground floor of the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Snowflakes adorn the ceiling in a hallway at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images
Snowflakes adorn the ceiling in a hallway at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
A display of the Obama family dogs, Bo and Sunny, at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015. According to a White House press release, the replicas were "created out of nearly 55,000 feet of yarn knitted into 7,000 yarn pom-poms."
Credit: Mark Wilson via Getty Images
A display of the Obama family dogs, Bo and Sunny, at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015. According to a White House press release, the replicas were "created out of nearly 55,000 feet of yarn knitted into 7,000 yarn pom-poms."
A gum ball machine in the State Dining Room at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images
A gum ball machine in the State Dining Room at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
The Red Room at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Red Room at the White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
A secret service officers walks by "snow people" at The White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images
A secret service officers walks by "snow people" at The White House on Dec. 2, 2015.
A decorated tree stands in the Blue Room on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: Mark Wilson via Getty Images
A decorated tree stands in the Blue Room on Dec. 2, 2015.
First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled this year's White House holiday decorations on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images
First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled this year's White House holiday decorations on Dec. 2, 2015.
Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images

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