It was a bittersweet afternoon for Ken MacKinnon and his daughters Tasha, 13, and Leah, 10.

After 40-odd hours of work painstakingly recreating Winnipeg's old city hall in miniature, using gingerbread, the family finally demolished it and got to snack on the rubble.

Over the holidays, the family spent a few hours everyday for a week putting together the replica of the old building.

MacKinnon said the structure was inspired when his daughter saw a picture of the old city hall. (CBC)

Winnipeg’s second city hall, 1886-1962 (photographed in 1900). (Archives of Manitoba/mhs.mb.ca) The gingerbread version didn't last quite as long as the original: Winnipeg's old city hall was built in 1886 and demolished in 1962.

MacKinnon, an architect, said his family makes elaborate gingerbread houses every year. This year, inspiration struck when Leah spotted a picture of the old city hall hanging on a wall in a restaurant.

"We like to do a different type of gingerbread house every year. I'm an architect, so I like to do things a little more challenging than most gingerbread houses. So this was a challenge and we took it on," MacKinnon said Sunday.

The gingerbread itself is simple, MacKinnon said, and the building materials only cost about $15, but there's a secret to it, he said.

Architect Ken MacKinnon and his daughters Tasha, 13, and Leah, 10, spent 40-odd hours building a miniature, gingerbread version of Winnipeg's city hall. On Sunday, it was time to smash it into pieces and finally eat it. (CBC)

"Number one ingredient is love," he joked.

MacKinnon said he'd like to see a gingerbread house contest in the city sometime soon.

"That would be fun to do every year," he said. "Maybe that'll take off."