The Christmas tree is up, the Christmas lights are draping the front yard, the Christmas cards are mailed and shopping done and all gifts wrapped and it’s only December 8^th! Does this sound like your life??? Most likely …NO!  During this busy but festive holiday season there is so much to do and so little time. However, amid the hustle and bustle, there is one holiday tradition that you should not leave off your list. Take a break on a weekend afternoon, gather your kids or grandkids and have a holiday bake-a-thon.  Our kids are all grown and scattered across the country and it is the one tradition I dearly miss. From the time they were little we spent a couple of hours baking Christmas cookies during each holiday season. It is such a beloved tradition that I still mail boxes of cookies to each of them before Christmas. Yes, they will be home for Christmas, but that box of Christmas cookies is just a small reminder of a favorite family tradition.  

When my kids were young, I will admit our Christmas cookie baking day did try my patience. However, they loved it so much, I did not have the heart to disappoint them. There were four of them trying to help measure, mix, blend and fold in a multitude of ingredients. Then, of course, they all wanted a hand at decorating the cookies. One year I tried a short cut and bought “slice and bake” cookies but the kids insisted that these were not “real cookies”. About 4 years ago, as I was baking with the last one left at home, I discovered the most amazing shortcut..  Betty Crocker Cookie Mix In A Bag.   This mix is not quite as quick as the slice and bake, but you actually make the dough!  You add butter or oil and an egg, mix and presto… a batch of dough. You can roll the dough to make cut outs, add additional ingredients such as white chocolate chips or just spoon out balls of dough and you are ready to bake and decorate. 20 minutes later, you have a batch of easy and tasty Christmas cookies!  Best of all, the cookies come out as delicious as the timely Toll House recipe.  

The cookie mixes include chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal, peanut butter and even gingerbread.  So you can quickly and easily make a fun assortment of Christmas cookies.  Add an assortment of decorating sugars, sprinkles, candies, raisins or dried cranberries to your baking area and the kids can have a ball decorating their cookies.  You can now have a stress free holiday baking session with your little ones. For a fun finale to your Christmas cookie bake-a-thon; the kids can wrap up their cookies and deliver them as gifts to friends.  For additional tips on Christmas cookie baking as well as a free printable really cute card to go with these packages visit Celebration Ideas On Line Easy Christmas Cookies.  So start your own annual Christmas Cookie bake-a-thon with your kids or grandkids.. it is a wonderful tradition!

Carol is a married mom of four. She works full time as an account executive. Celebration Ideas Online has become her favorite hobby as the kids have left home for college and jobs. It is an album of over 2 decades of family celebration ideas. She shares ideas for all kinds of celebrations from college care packages to holidays, special occasions, gifts and even school spirit fun.