Mackenzie Chown Complex was merry and bright Saturday afternoon, as Christmas music and gleeful students filled Pond Inlet for Brock International’s annual Holiday Party.

More than 70 domestic and international students attended the event and participated in a number of North American holiday traditions Dec. 2.

Attendees indulged in delectable holiday treats and played holiday-themed trivia inspired by customs from around the world relating to history, food and music.

Brock University Exchange students Helena Klein from Sweden, Kati Maekelae from Finland, Kang Dae Ho from South Korea, Yu Yoshioka from Japan, Choi Chang Woo from South Korea and Erina Imanishi from Japan won the gingerbread house building competition with their design titled Drömhuset.

One of the day’s highlights was a gingerbread house building competition. The winning team was a reflection of Brock’s international community, with students from Japan, Finland, South Korea and Sweden joining forces to take the top prize.

Helena Klein, an exchange student from Sweden who was on the winning team, explained that her group’s design, titled Drömhuset, was Swedish for ‘dream house.’

The event provided an opportunity for students to meet new people and interact with friends they’ve made over the semester.

“Many students are experiencing North American holiday traditions for the first time at Brock,” said Sandra Gruosso, interim Associate Director of Brock International Services. “Providing them with such a positive memory to take home is something we take great pride in doing.”

The event also included a free ticket to the highly anticipated Brock men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at the Meridian Centre that same evening in downtown St. Catharines.