The REAL Gingerbread Lady! The cookie-obsessed woman whose home is filled with $3,000 worth of trinkets - and plenty of sweet treats

By Sadie Whitelocks

PUBLISHED: 17:25 EST, 5 December 2013 | UPDATED: 17:36 EST, 5 December 2013

A woman has told how she is so addicted to gingerbread that she thinks about it year round '24 hours a day.'

Tamera Holland, 54, of Altavista, Virginia, who stars in this week's installment of TLC's My Crazy Obsession: Christmas Collection 2, says the mere sight of the humble holiday cookie makes her 'happy.'

The small home she shares with her husband is decked out with around 800 knick-knacks inspired by the doughy treat - worth an estimated $3,000 - and cookie-cutter prints permeate her wardrobe.

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Cookie cravings: Tamera Holland of Altavista, Virginia, is so addicted to gingerbread that she smokes ginger cigarettes and incorporates the spice into all of her meals

Cookie cravings: Tamera Holland of Altavista, Virginia, is so addicted to gingerbread that she smokes ginger cigarettes and incorporates the spice into all of her meals

'I think about my collection 24 hours a day,' she says in a trailer for the upcoming TLC episode.

'I go to bed dreaming of where I'm going to place the items and what I'm going to look for.

 

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'Every time I have a day off [work] I go and look for gingerbread [objects]. I'll go to thrift stores, I'll go to name-brand stores.'

One of Mrs Holland's favorite possessions is a human-size gingerbread plush doll called 'Miss Ginger' which she straps into the passenger seat and takes on car journeys.

On a roll: During the holiday season she bakes hundreds of gingerbread cookies

On a roll: During the holiday season she bakes hundreds of gingerbread cookies

One of Ms Holland's favorite possessions is a human-size gingerbread plush doll called 'Miss Ginger' which she straps into the passenger seat and takes on car journeys

Driving Miss Ginger: One of Mrs Holland's favorite possessions is a human-size gingerbread plush doll which she straps into the passenger seat and takes on car journeys

Her husband John, says that he wasn't very pleased when she purchased the doll.

'She wanted a gingerbread lady and it was $45 dollars and I asked her, "Was she crazy!"'

The first gingerbread ornament Mrs Holland bought was a Christmas tree decoration of a man's face.

'I think he's really cute with a great big smile on his face,' she muses.

Stuffed: The small home Ms Holland shares with her husband is decked out with around 800 gingerbread-inspired knickknacks

Stuffed: The small home Mrs Holland shares with her husband is decked out with around 800 gingerbread-inspired knickknacks worth an estimated $3,000

'I think he's really cute with a great big smile on his face,' Ms Holland says of her first gingerbread possession

'I think he's really cute with a great big smile on his face,' Mrs Holland says of her first gingerbread possession

In the kitchen, along with baking dozens of gingerbread cookies every week, another dish she likes to rustle up is gingerbread and sausage casserole.

In case of emergency, Mrs Holland keeps a 150lb stockpile of ginger powder in her home and also a stash of ginger cigarettes.

That way, if bad weather or natural disaster strikes she can keep her addiction in check.

 

Explaining what she finds so alluring about gingerbread, Mrs Holland says: 'How can you look at a gingerbread and not be happy.'

On the upcoming episode of TLC's My Crazy Obsession Mrs Holland's daughter surprises her by decorating the outside of her home to resemble a giant gingerbread house.

The emotional event is caught on camera, with tears ensuing.

TLC's My Crazy Obsession: Christmas Collection 2, premiering Saturday at 9pm ET

Comments (10)

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At one point, I thought she was driving blinfolded lol

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Her house must smell great.

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She is fab!

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There's one thing, she'll be easy to buy for at Christmas and birthdays!

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You really do provide a showcase for the nut jobs of the world

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I feel like eating some Christmas cookies right now...

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How could you live in that? Great stuff, but put it in a Museum!

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I get little obsessions and then I get over them. My last obsession was diamonds. Didn't get me any, but ask me about cut, color, clarity, and carats. And SIZE! lol.

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Oops, carats are size.

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I think it's sweet:) why not do something you enjoy!?

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