Special thanks to Kim (kimberlyah794) from the Addicts community for helping me out and writing this post!
Merry Christmas, Tappers! Things are certainly growing more festive in Springfield every day! Merrymakers getting hopped up on whatever is in a Hot Squishy, we have (or are working on) a Snowman large enough to block the sun, and decorations are keeping us all in the spirit!
By now, many of you have wrapped up the Effigy in White questline (or are close) with the Best Snowman Ever. A post on that will be coming up shortly.
Once you complete your snowman, Ned will realize it’s time to bake up “some similar-sized gingerbread-y!” Who knew Flanders could be so competitive?
Here are the basics…
Gingerbread Mansion
(level 1 view)
Size: 7X10
Build Time: Instant
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +50
Placement: Grass/Pavement
Earns: 32 hats/8hours (at level 5)
What Does It Do?: Once fully upgraded, will earn event currency (hats)
Payout: 32 hats /8 hours
Onto more details….
How Do I Get The Gingerbread Mansion?
The Gingerbread Mansion is FREE and unlocks via the Can’t Catch Me I’m the Gingerbread Man questline. Turbo tapping guide is here.
This is a five-part questline, similar to the Effigy in White (Snowman questline). You will send groups of characters (Youngsters, Kooks, etc.) to work at the Gingerbread Mansion in order to upgrade it to its final stage. Once it’s complete, similar to the Snowman, it will earn event currency.
How Do I Level Up?
Well it’s pretty simple really. You have two ways to access your Gingerbread Mansion. You can tap on the event menu (remember you access that via the Santa Hat Trophy on the bottom right of your screen). The icon looks like this: 
The second item listed in the menu on the left (magnifying glass with green “up” arrow) is the Find Attraction Screen:
See the second icon? That’s the one you’ll want to tap. Tapping “Go To” under the Mansion will take you to it (similar to the Monorail Event and the recycling centers). You can also simply tap directly on the Gingerbread Mansion.
Once you’ve opened the Gingerbread Mansion screen, it will tell you what you need to do in order to complete each level.
But we know some of you like planning ahead, so here is a quick rundown of each level.
Level 1
| Task | # of Characters Needed | Time | Payout (Regular/Premium) |
| Build Gingerbread Mansion | 0 | Instant | —- |
| Make Ned Think Big | 1 | 4hrs | $175/45xp |
Level 2
| Task | # of Characters Needed | Time | Payout (Regular/Premium) |
| Make Youngsters Clear Buildspace | 4 | 4hrs | 16/24 |
| Make Entrepreneurs Wholesale Gingerbread | 3 | 8hrs | 32/48 |
| Make Gluttons Chew off Rough Edges | 4 | 4hrs | 16/25 |
Level 3
| Task | # of Characters Needed | Time | Payout (Regular/Premium) |
| Make Ned Accidenatally Inhale Sugar Fumes | 1 | 4hrs | 16 |
| Make Dimwits Guesstimate Measurements | 6 | 2hrs | 8/12 |
| Make Brainiacs Measure Angles | 5 | 8hrs | 32/48 |
Level 4
| Task | # of Characters Needed | Time | Payout (Regular/Premium) |
| Make Ned “Accidentally” Inhale Sugar Fumes (x2) | 1 | 4hrs (x2) | 16 |
| Make Kooks Work Feverishly | 4 | 6hrs | 24/36 |
| Make Seniors Make Demands | 5 | 4hrs | 16/24 |
Level 5
| Task | # of Characters Needed | Time | Payout (Regular/Premium) |
| Make Gluttons Dispose of Excess Materials | 4 | 8hrs | 32/48 |
| Make High Rollers Apperciate the Extravagance | 3 | 4hrs | 16/24 |
| Make Pessimists Admit Defeat | 4 | 4hrs | 16/24 |
Each character will earn hats when they complete their tasks, so sending all possible characters will earn you the most hats. As always, premium characters (not premium skins) earn at a higher rate. As some of you have noted with Sherri and Terri and the Hot Squishee Stand, right now they are not earning at a higher-than-normal premium rate for event tasks. Not sure why that is, but it’s how EA has set up the event.
Here are the characters that could potentially be sent on tasks:
| Dimwits | Brainiacs | Gluttons |
| Barbarian | Cecil Terwilliger | Barney |
| Barney | Comic Book Guy | Chief Wiggum |
| Chester Dupree | Crazy Cat Lady | Comic Book Guy |
| Chief Wiggum | Database | Homer |
| Cletus | Dr. Hibbert | Mayor Quimby |
| Dr. Nick | Hank Scorpio | Space Mutant |
| Duffman | Lisa | |
| Grampa Simpson | Martin | |
| Homer | Principal Skinner | |
| Lenny | Prof. Frink | |
| Otto | Sideshow Bob | |
| Ralph | Sideshow Mel | |
| Sea Captain | ||
| Wolfcastle |
| Entrepreneurs | Pessimists | High Rollers |
| Akira | Agnes Skinner | Bernice Hibbert |
| Apu | Arnie Pye | Fat Tony |
| Artie Ziff | Chester Lampwick | Hank Scorpio |
| Belle | Comic Book Guy | Kent Brockman |
| Cecil Terwilliger | Dolph | Krusty |
| Comic Book Guy | Grampa Simpson | Martha Quimby |
| Fat Tony | Hugs Bunny | Mayor Quimby |
| Giuseppe | Jasper | Mr. Burns |
| Herman | Moe | Mr. Costington |
| Lugash | Mrs. Krabappel | Roger Meyers Jr. |
| Luigi | Patty | Stacy Lowell |
| Moe | Rev. Lovejoy | The Rich Texan |
| Mr. Burns | Roger Meyers Jr. | Wolfcastle |
| Roger Meyers Jr. | Selma | |
| The Rich Texan | Willie | |
| Tribal Chief |
| Youngsters | Kooks | Seniors |
| Bart | Apu | Abraham Lincoln |
| Database | Brandine | Agnes Skinner |
| Dolph | Bumblebee Man | Chalmers |
| Gino Underdunk Terwilliger | Cecil Terwilliger | Chester Lampwick |
| Greta Wolfcastle | Chester Lampwick | Giuseppe |
| Hugo | Cletus | Grampa Simpson |
| Janey | Crazy Cat Lady | Hans Moleman |
| Jessica Lovejoy | Disco Stu | Hans Moleman |
| Jimbo | Frink | Jasper |
| Lisa | Gino Underdunk Terwilliger | Judge Snyder |
| Martin | Hans Moleman | Kent Brockman |
| Michael D’Amico | Herman | Mr. Burns |
| Milhouse | Hugs Bunny | Mrs. Bouvier |
| Nelson | Kang | Ned Flanders |
| Ralph | Kodos | Stacy Lowell |
| Rod | Krusty | Suzanne The Witch |
| Sherri and Terri | Lurleen | Tom O’Flanagan |
| Squeaky Voice Teen | Otto | |
| Todd | Ralph | |
| Uter | Rod | |
| Sea Captain | ||
| Shary Bobbins | ||
| Sideshow Bob | ||
| The Yes Guy | ||
| Todd | ||
| Willie |
Keep in mind that not all characters from each group will be permitted to do the tasks. EA has set it up so only a limited number characters from each category can go.
Once you’ve completed all of the levels, you will have earned a total of 6810 hats. In addition, the fully upgraded Mansion will earn 32 hats every 8 hours. We don’t yet know if it will earn money after the event is over. We’ll find out when it happens.
Here’s what the fully upgraded Mansion will look like:
Once the Mansion is fully upgraded, you will also be able to select your favorite façade.
Is the Grind Worth It?
YES! You will receive 6810 hats just for upgrading and that figure doesn’t even include how much you will earn for sending characters on their tasks at the Mansion.
Strategies to Maximize the Hat Payout
If you want to maximize the hat payout you get from the characters completing the levels, you can stagger how you send them out, allowing you to send some of them more than one time. For example, the task “Make Youngsters Clear Buildspace” requires four characters to complete, but allows you to send seven characters. If you send three characters, instead of the available seven, then when the initial three are done, you can send all seven to complete the task. This would allow you to complete the task total of ten times instead of only seven (assuming you have all of the characters in your game). AND, if you send the premium character(s) on tasks twice, you will earn even more hats.
This strategy is certainly not right for everyone because it will take you longer to complete each level, particularly the tasks that are 6 or 8 hours, effectively doubling the length of each task. But if you are able to be in your game frequently or don’t have all of the characters, this might be a good strategy. Of course, if you are in your game frequently, you may not need to utilize this strategy because you may have no problem earning hats. Remember you’ll earn bonuts if you finish all the prizes before Act 1 ends…
And that my friends concludes the details on the Gingerbread Mansion!
What are your thoughts on the Gingerbread Mansion? Do you have a favorite façade? What do you think about it? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!
Special thanks again to Kim (kimberlyah794) for helping me out and writing this post!
As I was suspecting, the gingerbread house has payouts now that the winter event is over…but I guess the pay out depends on what level you completed? Mine is at level 4 and pays out $150 and 13 XP…what is the payout for level 5?
What is the payout for level 5?
It’s the same
My gingerbread house and never allowed me to upgrade it why is that? I received it in at 1 and it never allowed me to do any missions now here it is at 3 and I’m reading that I have to spend donuts to upgrade I don’t understand why I couldn’t start the upgrades from the beginning this is very perplexing things to eat and all these little glitches I’ve missed quite a bit of the holiday
That you’d have to ask EA about
Sorry about that last message stupid talk to text how do I contact EA?
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/01/14/troubleshooting-101-contacting-ea/
Jan 2nd and event is over. Storing all my Christmas goodies and my level 4 gingerbread mansion won’t sell, store or delete. What to do (without spending donuts to reach level 5)?
The event isnt over…Act 3 just hit. Once the removal update hits the app store (sometime around January 19th) then you should be able to store it. Until then everything is the same in the functioning of the game
Help! I can’t access the gingerbread mansion task!
That’s because it left with act 1.
I’ve completed all holiday task except gingerbread mansion and act 3. why won’t it trigger? Please help! 🙁
Because Act 3 hasn’t started yet…and the Gingerbread mansion left with Act 1
I never got the option of doing the gingerbread house. Will I be able to buy it ever?
Nope. It was part of Act 1…gone with the act.
My gingerbread house won’t update, won’t even give the option.
Because Act 1 is over. If you want to upgrade it now you have to spend donuts
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/12/19/christmas-2015-act-2-is-live/
I had not completed the gingerbread mansion in time so it remains on level three. The only problem I have is that it will not allow me to remove it to my storage. What should I do?
Once the event ends you can move it to storage..until then you have to wait.
Thanks for the help Bunny, sorry if I came across as rude.
Can’t get past level. Says from 4 to 5 with no character tasks. Just 101 donuts, is that what anyone else is seeing??
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/12/19/christmas-2015-act-2-is-live/
I am also getting this, says i need to spend over 100 doughnuts to get it to level 5. Doesnt seem worth it to me
I didn’t complete the Gingerbread mansion in time so it’s locked at level 4. I refuse to spend the ridiculous amount of donuts it wants to bring it to level 5, but now I can’t get rid of it! It won’t let me store or sell it??! Am I just stuck with an incomplete, useless gingerbread house now?
Wait til after the Event Ends. Usually you can store them at that point. We won’t know until the Event ends what EA plans to do with them.
On my wife’s game her fully upgraded gingerbread mansion’s roof opens up where two small gingerbread men are playing ping pong, but it doesn’t do it on mine? How do I get it to do that?
It showed the gingerbread men playing tennis on the rooftop tennis court when Ned went to do his final task in the questline (i.e., it’s the animation that shows when the building is in use). Now that Act 1 is over, though, it may be too late to see that. However, if you keep the gingerbread mansion out year-round, it may “come alive” randomly at some point, like the buildings sometimes do.
I’m another one who didn’t finish the gingerbread mansion in time. Sadly, work got in the way of completing it in time. So now I’m stuck at level 4 unless I want to spend 50 donuts (so close).
Question is, is it worth it to bring it to level 5? What’s the benefit? Will it actually do anything and help with subsequent acts?
Thanks!
Really really annoyed, didn’t see any indication that we had to upgrade the house before end of act 1!
Another only one? Please tell me that I just missed reading something, else I think I’m going to give up as not spending 150 donuts to continue with this event!
Also annoyed craft prizes went as well EA haven’t done that previously.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/12/19/christmas-2015-act-2-is-live/
So act 2 has started and my gingerbread house is stuck on level 4 and o have to pay 150 donuts to get it to level 5! I am actually angry as if I could have made an informed choice that I wouldn’t be able to get it to level 5 then I would have got it to level 5 ASAP. Instead I wanted to hold off my hat earnings to act 2! For an early boost as we have been able to do in the past, therefore I didn’t make an informed decision! Well off to EA to complain!
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/12/19/christmas-2015-act-2-is-live/
Why do you keep referring is to act 2 Bunny? I know you guys get alot of stupid questions, but referring us to act 2 is not going to help those of us that are indignant at this. Personally I am complaining to EA.
Because it explains it. Did you even look at the post? And yes it will help as many want to know what others thought about it and that is the MAIN hub of that discussion. It also actually tells you to go to EA.
So in short… there is a reason we redirect players to a specific spot. I get you do not like what happened, but no need to take that frustration out on someone that is HELPING other players in the exact same spot and thought, don’t you think? 😉
Sorry for taking it out on you, but your post tells me what I know (and what I am very annoyed at – my problem is EA did not in any way tell us that the gingerbread house was a limited time upgrade – and it looks like you guys didn’t know that either till start of act 2). I am annoyed With EA being sneaky – same too with crafting prizes
Just keep in mind, we’re here to help. We’re not EA so we can’t fix it, but we’ll suggest ways to get it fixed and/or attention brought to it…which is in the post I’m redirecting people to.
Just because a post is not for you or the exact answer you want to hear doesn’t mean it’s not helping others. Cruelty to those helping won’t fix the problem. 😉
Why can’t we finish lvl 5 of the cabin after act 2 starts
All Act One has been phased out, so only option to continue items from Act One is now Donuts.
I got to level 4 of the gingerbread house and then I was out of time…act 2 started. Because I didn’t complete the gingerbread mansion to level 5 does that mean I can’t start on the exotic petting zoo? I remember the mansion immediately prompting me to start with Ned once I finished the snowman but now I’m st k and nothing is prompting me to start the zoo. I don’t want to spend 110 donuts to complete the stupid mansion.
All Act One has been phased out, so only option to continue items from Act One is now Donuts. You can still move on. No worries. It won’t stop you. Just like the Personal Prizes. NOT finishing will not hold you back.
How many santa hats are earned at the level 5 upgrade at the gingerbread house? I’m still missing 2000 santa hats to get patches and poor violet! Hope I can make it 🙂
2430, I think, so you should be good. 🙂
About 2400, IIRC, so, if you finish the gingerbread mansion, you should be fine. 🙂
I’m not sure how this applies to the Gingerbread Mansion,, but here goes. As I visit my neighbors, I had noticed a great deal of them have Christmas decor on their normal houses (quite a lot, in fact). Excited about this, I decided to check my own houses (thinking I overlooked something) and to my dismay, there are no “skins” to decorate the houses with? How, exactly, do I go about making my neighborhood houses more Christmassy?
*PS. I did use my bonuts to buy some upgrades that were offered in the $$hop. I like being a freemium player, but Christmas is my favorite time of the year, so I splurged a wee bit.
Christmas decorations for houses were prizes the past couple of years, along with Santa’s toy shop and such. Maybe they’ll be prizes of some sort in Act 2.
They were prizes/premium purchases from previous Christmases unfortunately. No way to know if they’re coming back. I thought it’d be one of the first things they brought back as soon as the event dropped and was eagerly anticipating decorating my houses. Alas, they only gave us a few (very nice) house skins, put some in the store for donuts, and the rest are still in the vault.
Help – I have done all the quests and upgraded the snowman and the gingerbread house but I still need 3000 hats to get the last prize – how is that possible?!?
Help – I have done all the quests and upgraded the snowman and the gingerbread house and I still need more than 3000 hats to get the last prize – how is that possible?!?
This is the third time I’ve just read this identical post from you (I responded to the first one)…how many times did you post this same question??
Ive just upgraded the gingerbread house fully and my gingerbread house is different…it has a tennis court on the roof with two gingerbread men playing! Anyone else have the same?
That’s how it looks when Ned’s there..it’s it’s animation
Ahhh ok, makes sense lol, thanks 🙂
LOL, I thought I had dreamt that! Whew, I’m not going crazy after all.
Gingerbread Mansion –
You will need this to earn Event Currency (a decent Freemium Building, aka the reason I’m not wasting Donuts on this year’s Premium Buildings) ….
Lee – You liked my period??? LOL!!!
I’ve tried to like everything that people have posted just to make the comments show up, 🎄 🍩 ❄ 🎁 ⛄ 🙂
??? But how can you like a comment if it hasn’t already shown up?
Sorry Sandra, English is not my first language…..
What I meant was……when I see that people have posted just a smile, or just a full stop, or comma (for the sake of posting anything to get comments to show for them) I have clicked “like”
🍩 🎁 ⛄ 🎄 ❄ 😀 😁 🙂
I thought you were British…..
What language do you speak besides English?
i knew your first language was emoji!
No Simp7fan not British,…English! and I was being silly 🎁 🙂
Thank you Tapebelt, I wonder why everybody else doesn’t make more use of them, they’re free you know
Now then what can we find 🔞 📵 🚫🚭 ⛔ mmm and some oriental writing 🈴🈶🈷🈲🈳🉐🉑🈂🈯 a few clocks🕧🕡🕑🕒 and some arrows ↖↔↘↗➡◀↕ lovely
🎄 ⛄ 🎁 ❄ 🙂
I’m on 20375 hats and lvl 3 gingerbread house think I’ll get to in 2 days 9 hours?
It’ll take a lot of grinding and being in your game A LOT
I think EA has planned this event pretty well. Upgrading to level 5 and few merrymaker taps got me the last prize with few days to spare. I have a few premiums that may have helped a bit.
But now with basically only few buildings and merrymakers earning small amount of hats, no chance of getting to 4000 hats to get 3 bonuts… well played ea 🙂 I’ll have to cope with only getting the 20 bonuts from daily tasks :p
Can you still send Ned on a task to get the animation after the last task finishes? It’s one of the best ones I’ve seen…
I posted a comment here last night, lots of new comments have since been added but not mine 🙁
Were the comments added answered? Or were they friend requests? Sometimes I’ll go in and just push stuff that can be pushed (usually while I’m waiting at a red light) to get the comments down. If they need answers or they’re long sometimes it takes me a bit to answer them (I also stopped answering comments around midnight my time last night)
You be careful, not to get a ticket, ….I sent a text once, just one word, while stopped in traffic, motorcycle cop came from a side road, noticed me about 3 years ago can’t remember the cost
🚥 🚦 🚗 🚓 🔫
🎁 🎄 🙂
lol i do it often. But only at red lights…
Oh, I never stop at a red light. My brother taught me only fools stop at red lights, so any time I have a red light, I just go through it.
The only time I ever stop at an intersection is when my light is green. Why? For all I know, my brother might be coming from the perpendicular side and hit me, as he has a red light.
lmao Nice!
Thanks for the reply, Alissa! Yes, I suppose that’s what happened 🙂
Funny how I asked about SIBs for the limited-time items then, and they all started rolling out shortly thereafter… guess I was getting a bit anxious.
lol always gotta push the bigger stuff out first (like how to play) and then I do the Should I buys..things were a little behind because I had a busy week last week.