It is that time of the year again when we start thinking of family traditions. Halloween is just past and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Then of course it will be time to get ready for Christmas. Like in all families, each of these holidays has its own traditions. Take Thanksgiving for example, we always have turkey even though some of us don't really care for it. Our favorite meal when we all get together is a brisket dish that I prepare. It takes two days and everyone loves it. So one Thanksgiving, I decided to have brisket instead of turkey. I thought everyone would be pleased. especially my daughter who loves brisket but does not like turkey. Oh no. She was horrified we had to have turkey, it's tradition.
Christmas too has many traditions that cannot be broken. We always go to our daughter and son-in-laws for Christmas Eve. We have a smorgasbord of hor dourves to eat which must include certain items to please certain family members. We always watch The Christmas Story and we always play a game. My husband and I open our gifts from our children and the cousins exchange gifts. But the rest of the gift giving is reserved for Christmas morning after Santa has come.
Christmas day is always at our house where we open gifts and have a full dinner. People come and go all day long.
But of all our traditions, Cookie Baking Day is everyone's favorite. I don't remember how it got started but like Topsey, it has grown and grown. It takes place on a Saturday before Christmas and everyone comes, from the oldest to the youngest. Two years ago the oldest was Nanny Helen and the youngest was Hadley who was just three months old at the time. Hadley is now two and Nanny Helen passed away at age 95. However, the tradition goes on. This year our oldest will be my husband Ron at 76 and the youngest our great granddaughter Finley who will be six months old.
Cookie Baking Day is sacrosanct. I remember when our granddaughter Nicole had just started a new job a few years ago. On the day she was hired, she told them that she had to have the Saturday of cookie baking off. This year we have a three year old great grandson who can't be with us for Christmas but we are doing everything we can to make sure he is here for cookie baking.
The day starts around seven for me. I get all the ingredients lined up, crush the peppermints and nuts, soften the butter, line the cookie sheets with parchment paper and get ready for the chaos. Now less you think all the cooks are the ladies in the family, you are wrong. Sons and son-in-laws, grandsons, and nephews are right in the thick of it too.
We bake about 14 kinds of cookies. We roll balls, we dip, we cut,we decorate. There are cookies on every flat surface. The kitchen is a disaster and the noise level compares with a rock concert. I am exhausted but I dare not show it because I am already called the grumpy elf.
We usually finish around six or seven that evening though there are still bar cookies to cut and trays of cookies to be made up for gifts. But for all intents and purposes, Cookie Baking Day is over for another year. There will be stories to tell of today, the mishaps, the adorable little ones making their first cookies. We will be reminded of the Cookie Baking Days of the past, the people who are gone but not forgotten. It is a tradition that I keep saying I am getting too old to continue. I tell my daughter that she will have to take over, but I know in my heart that will not happen for few more years. She is not ready for the tradition to end and neither am I.
