Woman Creates Intricate Gingerbread Houses Based on Homes Featured in Nancy Meyers' Movies (Exclusive)

Gingerbread houses are a fun activity to try at the coziest time of year.

There are some gingerbread artisans who elevate the fun craft to an art form. Natalie Salerno, on TikTok and Instagram @natalie_salerno, tells PEOPLE she first tried her hand at a serious gingerbread house during the COVID-19 pandemic to lift her spirits.

"I made my first house in December of 2020. That was the cottage from The Holiday," Salerno shares.

"We were still in the midst of the pandemic, so I had nothing but time and a baseless confidence that I could make something elaborate. The stakes were so low."

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Related: From 'Home Again' to 'Something's Gotta Give,' Inside All of'' Nancy Meyers' Movie Dream Houses

Happy with how her attempt at Iris' home turned out, she decided to try another gingerbread house that same year. This time, she created The Rosebud Motel from Schitt's Creek.

In celebration of her love for Nancy Meyers' films, Salerno now creates a different gingerbread house from her cinematic universe "almost every year."

"I started with Iris' Holiday cottage in 2020. In 2022, I made the Banks' home from Father of the Bride. In 2023, I made Elizabeth James' London townhouse from The Parent Trap, and this year, I made Nick Parker's Napa Ranch [from The Parent Trap]," Salerno says.

"I'm such a big fan of Nancy, and anyone who loves her work knows her movies feature some of the most beautiful on-screen homes," she continues. "Seeing them come to life in gingerbread is always rewarding."

Putting together such detailed and decorated gingerbread houses isn't easy. Salerno says "the planning process takes almost as much time as the baking and building."

"Once I decide which house I'd like to make, I pull as many reference photos I can find. This can be tricky with movie houses though. Often I'll only be able to find photos of the front and sides, if I'm lucky," she explains.

"From there, I spend hours with a pencil, ruler and graph paper, mapping out all the pieces I'll need. I'll make a key for each house to refer to when I assemble, and each piece gets labelled to relate back to that key."

The process can be "challenging" and "tedious," but there's a method to the madness, she adds. "It's so important. At the end of the day, everything needs to fit together correctly."

Next, it's time to bake, which can be "a game of timing."

"At any given moment on baking day, I have pieces I'm cutting from dough, pieces chilling in the fridge, and pieces in the oven. Everything that comes out of the oven needs to be trimmed immediately before cooling, so it's pretty non-stop," she says.

When it's time to move on to décor, it's a fun shift for Salerno, who enjoys piping. "It's fun to add all the details and I find it the most relaxing part of the process," she says, adding, "I specifically love when I get to pipe ivy or brick."

As she's moved through each house, there's a favorite detail that stands out from each.

"The little blue gate and Rosehill Cottage sign on my first ever house still makes me happy. Picket fences in general are always a labor of love," she says.

"The dormers on the Father of the Bride house were tricky to get right. When it comes to this most recent house, I love the lanai with its delicate ivy-covered pieces and the pool. I recognize it's silly to have a pool in the snow, but I think a gingerbread house is meant to be a bit whimsical!"

All together, each of the gingerbread houses takes Salerno "around 50 hours" to create.

"I've stopped precisely tracking over the years," she admits. "As I've made more, I've gotten faster at certain aspects which is nice. But each year I plan to make a house, I try to block off at least three full days and a week of nights after work."

The beautiful creations have gotten a ton of love on social media from others who love to immerse themselves in Nancy Meyers' world.

"When I shared The Holiday cottage on TikTok back in 2020, I had zero expectations. So when it went viral, I was so shocked. Every year since, the outpouring of support is so touching," Salerno says.

"Family, friends and coworkers will ask me about the next house all year. I've had two commissioned gingerbread projects from businesses and Nancy herself has sent me some of the sweetest messages. It's sort of become an unintentional part of my identity."

She adds, "Comments like, 'I wait all year for this' are wild and I don't take it for granted that people care. Although, I am a little concerned about creating a stir if I ever take a year off!"

Read the original article on People