Every August when I’m sweating as I make out our upcoming school calendar schedule, the decision is made to take only a couple of weeks off in December around the holidays because “that’s all we really need for a break”. And every year when December arrives on our household calendar I wonder what I could have been thinking back in August as I’m wishing I had scheduled the ENTIRE month of December OFF. Honestly, I go through this scenario every single year. You’d think I’d learn!

Alas, several years ago after Thanksgiving when I noted that the holidays were swiftly approaching and I had my hands overwhelmingly full, I decided to try something new. Instead of doing an enormous amount of baking, frosting, and decorating over a couple of days right before Christmas, I thought why not spread it out over the days of December before Christmas with a recipe a day? Hopefully it would take the rush out of the holidays and allow us to take more time on specialty cookies.

I wrote out a list of all our favorite holiday recipes and then cruised through various cookbooks – including some small specialty Christmas cookie books – to add some new recipes. This idea was followed through with setting the basic baking ingredients on the kitchen countertop in a neat line so they’d be readily available and making a list of any specialty baking items I’d need to add. And off we went through the month of December schooling for a bit each day and baking a bit during the rest of the day.

Here’s the list of recipes we used that year:

1 – Rainbow Cookies
2 – Gumdrop Cookies
3 – Christmas Candy Cane Cookies
4 – Putzy Poinsettia Cookies
5 – Corny Coconut Cookies
6 – White Chocolate Peppermint Snowdrops
7 – Italian Frosted Cookies
8 – Chewy Chocolate Cookies

9 – Chow Mein Treats
10 – Almond Bars
11 – Lemon Bars
12 – Gingerbread Men
13 – Christmas Eggnog Cookies
14 – Pinwheel Cookies
15 – Spritz Press Cookies
16 – Frosted Sugar Cutter Cookies

17 – Fudge
18 – Neopolitan Cookies
19 – Chocolate Chip Cookies
20 – Grandma’s Anise Cookies
21 – Oatmeal Raisin Bullet Cookies
22 – Chocolate Bugels
23 – Pecan Tassies
24 – Snickerdoodles
25 – OFF – Christmas Day

It was a wonderful variety of sweet treats for our holidays! What a blessing it was to always having a good stock of treats we could draw upon when we needed to take cookies to different events and also bless people with containers of cookies as gifts at the same time. There were plenty of treats for our family to indulge in as well.

Of course, once all the treats are made you may be pondering a bigger question like WHERE do you store all those treats until Christmas time? We live in an area where the climate is cold in December, so I used flat boxes and rubbermaid containers setting them out on our deck where nothing would disturb them and we could easily catch “snitchers”! An upright freezer would work well, too.

So, what are you waiting for this year? Try it! Make a list of family favorites and be sure to add those special recipes that have been handed down through the years by family members. After looking at your list, consider the particular types of cookies that would add variety such as drop cookies, rolled and sliced cookies, shaped cookies, frosted and decorated cookies, bars, and don’t forget the sweetest of treats such as fudge, divinity, or caramels. Cookie resources are endless as you can consult cookbooks on your home shelves, pick up holiday magazines found at every store’s checkout, or do an online search.

Make sure you let your children get involved in this process as they definitely have strong opinions about what it takes to make a great cookie! Look through every recipe for necessary ingredients so nothing is forgotten on your grocery list. Once everything is gathered, grab your apron and get your children busy stirring up some wonderfully sweet memories! There’s nothing children enjoy better than rolling pins, mixing bowls with lickable beaters, and fingers dipped in colored sugars. Add a dash of favorite Christmas music in the background and you’re all set.

Happy baking!

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses – home of the famous online search “Cookie Christmas Tree”.