Some 50 tiny homes filled the ballroom at Eastworks Saturday afternoon — edible homes, that is, made of gingerbread — as several hundred people, working to holiday tunes, gathered at the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity Annual Gingerbread Build fundraiser.

Megan McDonough, the executive director of Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, described the event as “a microcosm of the big habitat experience.” Habitat for Humanity routinely rallies a community effort to build homes for low income people.

“It takes the big project of building houses down to a small scale,” McDonough said of the festive fundraiser.

The designs ranged from a candy cathedral built by architects to a gingerbread house adorned with vegetable decor.

Shae and Audrey Blaisdell, an Easthampton couple, planned out their small-size farmhouse days prior to the event.

They have eight pets at home, so their animal theme seemed to be a natural progression, Audrey Blaisdell explained.

Her sisters, Michelle Dooley of Belmont and Stephanie Mecham of St. George, Utah, also joined in on the fun.

“The fact that it’s so playful and fun — that’s what I like,” Blaisdell said.

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