Everyday Life

As seen in the December issue of:

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"By the time you read this, you’ll likely be in the midst of holiday cheer…

decking the halls, party planning, card writing, gift buying…

what a festive and special time of year!

From parties to parades, there is much fun to be had this season!

All that fun makes for a full family calendar in December!

Can you relate? As we pencil in caroling and cantatas,

let’s also make certain to schedule unscheduled time.

For my family, that usually translates to quality time

full of holiday memory making.

I’ll bet that many of you have lots of neat holiday traditions

that bring everyone together to simply share the season.

I’d love to hear them! If we were chatting over coffee,

I’d share with you a new way that my family gets together

for some holiday “down time.”

A few years ago, despite the whirlwind of typical holiday busy-ness,

I decided to set aside some time to start a new family tradition.

I love to spend time baking in the kitchen and I get it honest -

I come from a long line of experienced and talented bakers.

And since Christmas provides an opportune time

to bake sweet confections and give-away-goodies,

I started what we call “The Christmas Experience”.

On a Sunday afternoon in December,

my daughter and I hosted the ladies of our family

for a cookie bake.

We pooled together our Christmas cookie cutter collections

and filled the table with everything

a cookie baker might need.

That included everything from red sugar & green sprinkles

to chocolate chips & red hots….we were set!

And with aprons donned and cutting boards floured,

we rolled and cut, baked and iced, and laughed our way

through the afternoon.

The state of my kitchen, dusted in flour,

attested to how much fun we had that December day!

The result?

Not only had we baked up a beautiful display

of freshly decorated cookies, but more importantly,

we baked up memories!

I don’t think that my six-year-old daughter

will soon forget the cookie baking tutorials

given by her great-grandmother.
It was such fun that we did it again the next year.

It was “The Second Annual Christmas Experience”

and it proved to be as fun as the first. This year,

I have already penciled in the date for our

Third Annual gathering and I hope the tradition will continue on.

This December, I encourage you to gather up

your family and create some holiday memories,

maybe even start some new traditions.

Don’t let the hustle and bustle of the season

get you too busy to focus on life at home.

I speak from experience when I caution against

letting the holiday calendar get away from you!

We have to be intentional to carve out time

with loved ones this season and also to keep the

real meaning of Christmas the priority of the celebration.

In the spirit of The Christmas Experience,

here is the sugar cookie dough recipe

I have used for our cookie bake.

I learned it from my mother, who informs that it originates

with Lake Placid’s Nan Mielke. Thank you Miss Nan!

{Tip: I made two batches of this dough the day before

our bake so my cookie crew could focus on cutting, baking and decorating}

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cream of tarter
3 cups flour sifted
Refrigerate one hour before baking @ 375.

Merry Christmas!

~Heidi"