The battle lines are drawn and the competitors are about to Rock the House …the Gingerbread House! There will be no bows and arrows, just gingerbread and icing. But when the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) staff dives into this holiday competition, the atmosphere will be just as tense and competitive as The Hunger Games since only one chef can come out on top. Expect bursts of creativity, double dealings and plots against their fellow chefs. And the public will decide the champ.

The Great Gingerbread House Showdown is on!

Erin King (Executive Director), Brenda Lafontaine (Online Business Development & Marketing Manager) and Amaris Burkel (Manager of Operations & Member Relations) have already started up with the bantering. The action can be followed on Facebook posts as well as e-mail blasts. Readers can vote for their favorite of the trio of cooks on Facebook then judge the final results on Monday, December 16.

"Honestly, I have no idea why the other two ladies are even in this competition with me,” said King, aka The Knife. "I’ll be bringing the same will to succeed that I have in my everyday dealings with the CSSA. I just sort of pity the competition.”

"This won’t even be close,” added Lafontaine, also known as The Artiste. "My creative instincts will be right on the money. Plus, I’ve read the story of Hansel and Gretel over and over, complete with pictures. I’m not even sure Erin knows how to turn on an oven.”

"Talk is cheap,” said Burkel, known as The Glue for her efforts to keep the CSSA office rolling along. "I’m an organizer and I have studied up on this whole Gingerbread House phenomenon. I’ll be ready!”

The game is afoot, the holidays are moving into high gear and so is the CSSA staff. If all goes well, expect bigger gingerbread house competitions in years to come. But for now, the gingerbread is heating up and the icing lines have been drawn.

Stay tuned!