A decorating contest can be fun until everyone starts worrying about who wins.
Use several silly categories
Try Most Likely to Survive a Blizzard, Best Candy Roof, Coziest House, or Funniest Detail.
Make sure every cake has something to celebrate
Awards work best when they recognize differences rather than rank one creation as the only good one.
Let kids invent categories
Their ideas are often much funnier than anything adults plan.
Use both Tomte cakes
The Tomte Cake creates two cakes, so the family can compare styles while keeping the focus on creativity rather than perfection.