Fred was not planning on spending major dough for a new home, but when he found out his wife had a bun in the oven, it was unavoidable. So he turned to "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" real estate agents James Harris and David Parnes to find the perfect cottage. The only catch? Fred is Ginger Fred, a cookie made of gingerbread.

That is the actual storyline behind a whimsical search for the perfect (gingerbread) home for the holidays is central to Trulia's holiday social-marketing push this year. The 12-day social media and public relations campaign kicked off on Dec.1 and will end tomorrow (Dec. 12) on "Gingerbread House Day," when the gingerbread couple's dream home will be revealed. Daily Instagram photo vignettes have been chronicling the search. Mekanism did the creative.

"The holidays aren't thought of as a great time to buy or sell a house, but we believe it still can be a great time, and we wanted to bring that to life in a fun and playful way," said Micky Onvural, VP-consumer marketing at Trulia.

Known for its rich databases of real estate information, pricing histories and photos, Trulia is spotlighting that expertise by pinpointing the best neighborhoods in San Francisco and Los Angeles for the gingerbread family, locating the best nearby bakeries and grocery stores and areas that are not too hot to melt icing roofs. Infographics with the 10 best and the 10 worst places for gingerbread families to live also play on Trulia's traditional data-driven "best of" listings it publishes throughout the year.

Million-dollar uber agents Messrs. Harris and Parnes were tapped because the online real estate service also helps buyers and sellers find real estate agents. The two men have "guided" the cookies in finding the right home and are showcasing the search on their own social media channels as well.

Read more about the campaign over at AdAge.com.