Gingerbread Confusion

So, my brother, a faithful reader of this blog, came over this weekend, and at one point he asked where the gingerbread house was. I informed him that it was right next to his elbow. "Oh, that's tiny," he said. And I reminded him that it only cost $2.99. So, for full disclosure, since I realize that my photography might have exaggerated the proportions of my 2nd house, here are the photos again, with some clarification.
Note the size relative to the snowman bowl in the background. Also, the first gingerbread house is on a glass platter.

Now, note the size relative to the snowman bowl in the background (different bowl, but same size.) This gingerbread house is on a plastic appetizer/desert plate.