Dozens of Fort McCoy community members gathered Dec. 6 at McCoy’s Community for the Breakfast with Santa and Gingerbread House Showdown event — part of the ongoing celebration of the holiday season at Fort McCoy.
The event, organized by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR), saw many of the guests take time to have their photo taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Many of the visitors also enjoyed a specially priced buffet breakfast prepared by DFMWR staff.
In a DFMWR Facebook post Dec. 6, the directorate team thank community members for participating.
“A huge thank you to everyone who came out for Breakfast with Santa at McCoy’s Community Center today,” the post states. “We had an incredible turnout, and it was wonderful to see families enjoying delicious food, festive fun, and holiday cheer. Guests were treated to a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, a cozy showing of Elf, and a creative gingerbread house building contest.
“Your laughter, smiles, and holiday spirit made the event truly magical,” the post states. “Thank you for spending your morning with us — we loved celebrating the season together.”
At least a couple dozen Gingerbread House Showdown items were created by the guests. In a separate Facebook post, DFMWR officials highlighted the gingerbread house-building effort.
“Today during Breakfast with Santa, our community brought the creativity, holiday cheer, and some seriously sweet skills,” the post states. “Each contestant had one hour to build their festive gingerbread masterpiece.”
A sponsor for the showdown provided all of the gingerbread house kits, DFMWR officials said.
“Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this event sweet, spirited, and full of holiday cheer,” the Facebook post stated.
DFMWR officials will continue supporting holiday-themed events through December.
On Dec. 4, the directorate also organized the 2025 Fort McCoy Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Learn more about Fort McCoy DFMWR by visiting their website at https://mccoy.armymwr.com or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mccoymwr.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.)