You might want to use one wooden person for each member of your family for this cake topper and personalize them as such. The propeller will spin once the candles are lit, driven by the heat.

Tools and Materials

Oval embroidery hoop, 5 by 9 inches
Craft saw
Wood glue
Wooden craft stick or coffee stirrer
Drill with a 3/32-inch bit
Craft knife
1 sheet of basswood, 1/32 by 3 by 24 inches
Sandpaper
Small paintbrush
Wooden figures: people and trees
Detail paintbrush
Artist watercolor paint
Pyramid rod, propeller, and bearing cup
Fan assembly
Wooden beads (optional)
Candles

1. Bake and frost ginger-bread cake.
2. Cut interior oval of embroidery hoop, creating an arch about 6 inches tall (A). Extend the ends of the arch by 2 inches by gluing sections from a craft stick or coffee stirrer to the ends. Drill a hole at center of arch’s top edge.
3. Print template for carolers’ arms. Cut pieces from basswood (B). Sand as needed. Glue to wooden people. To make songbook, cut a rectangle of basswood 1/2 inch by 1 inch. Score down the middle with opposite side of craft knife, and gently bend it.
4. Paint people and trees as desired. Draw faces and hair first very lightly in pencil. Use a spare piece of wood to check the color and opacity of the paint. Let dry.
5. Glue songbook to arms, and let dry.
6. To assemble pyramid on cake: Insert the blunt end of the pyramid rod into propeller. Thread 2 beads (optional) onto the pointed end of the rod (C). Insert rod through hole drilled in arch. Insert ends of arch into the cake. Slide more beads onto the rod to nearly cover it, and place the bearing cup beneath the end.
7. Arrange trees and carolers. Reposition the bearing cup as necessary so the propeller can spin freely.
8. Place candles in cake.

Oval embroidery hoop, 5" by 9", createforless.com. Basswood Sheet, 1/32" by 3" by 24", davinciartistsupply.com. Unfinished wooden trees, beads, and people #5 figurines, bayerwood.com. Pyramid rod, 196 mm by 2 mm; glass bearing cup; and fan assembly, 202 mm; christkindl-markt.com.