The Holiday Open House at South Shore Harbour Resort will feature a house of a different sort, one so scrumptious you could just eat it.

But better not: The massive gingerbread house must remain on display throughout the Christmas season to delight the children attending “Sundays with Santa.”

Sundays with Santa are scheduled for 11am to 2pm the first three Sundays in December at South Shore Harbour Resort, 2500 South Shore Boulevard in League City. Mr. & Mrs. Claus will be there, and admission is free. In addition to the gingerbread house and the elaborate Winter Wonderland in the lobby area, Santa will pose for pictures with the young ones whose parents bring cameras, and all are invited to partake in yummy cookies and punch.

This year’s gingerbread house is the largest in the resort’s history. Executive Chef Roland Kyburz and his staff assemble some 7,600 gingerbread cookies and spent nearly 300 total hours creating the 2009 Gingerbread House. The icing and trim alone contain 52 pounds of egg whites, 186 pounds of powdered sugar and 86 pounds of candy.

The gingerbread house is an annual holiday event for Chef Kyburz, in keeping with an old European tradition. Gingerbread was baked in Europe a thousand years ago, and it was the Germans who later began making Gingerbread houses. German immigrants brought their recipes to America as early as the late 1700s.

For information about the Sundays with Santa or the gingerbread house, call Cathy Cheatham at South Shore Harbour Resort, (281) 334-1000, or email ccheatham@sshr.com.