MadisonShaffar

Picture this: It’s Christmas Eve and you just came inside from sledding in the snow. The house smells of hot cocoa, pine needles and candy canes. You turn on “Home Alone” and pull out the same family recipes you make every year. It’s time to bake some Christmas cookies.

When it comes to holiday traditions, most families in America find baking cookies to be the perfect activity. As years go on and times change, Christmas baking has never failed to stay in season.

Once the holidays begin, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the craziness that comes with Christmas time. Spending time with family reminds everyone of the true purpose of the season: togetherness. 

Freshman Ava Reeson and her family always get together to bake cookies. Each year, they search for new cookie recipes as a fun way to get excited for the holidays. “I think these traditions are important because they bring my family closer together and make the holidays feel more special,” Reeson said.

Christmas cookies are often used as a way to pass down family traditions. Many recipes have been used for generations and continue to be a hit each year. 

Junior Ashley Keenan and her family use their butter cookie recipe as a way to come together each year. “I enjoy making the cookies because I get to spend time with my grandma,” Keenan said. 

Butter cookies are “a normal sugar cookie base with a lot of butter. We cut them into different shapes based on the holiday or event we are making them for, and frost them with different colored frosting and sprinkles,” Keenan said.

Christmas baking is often turned into a game between families as well. Junior Cailin Mullin and her family compete in a competition called “Cookie Collision” each year. Her brother created the game four years ago, and they have done it every year since.

To put the competition in simple terms, “Each year, everyone in my family makes cookies and then we eat them blindfolded and rate them out of ten. Then at the end, an average is taken of the scores and a ‘Cookie Collision Champion’ is named for the year and gets the trophy until next year,” Mullin said. Family competition is a great way for people to come together and make something delicious while raising the stakes.

“I think the tradition brings my family together because although we are competing against each other, we all come together to eat delicious cookies and enjoy the Christmas spirit,” Mullin said.

These kinds of traditions are the ones that will continue to be celebrated for years to come and are the perfect way to keep families close.

Family kitchen traditions continue to grow, even as kids get older. Athletic trainer Mrs. Melissa Brusnahan has three daughters who have all graduated from high school.

Although the girls are no longer at home, the family still continues their ritual of baking holiday cookies and making homemade candies. Brusnahan started making the cookies for family gatherings when she was a kid, but now that she has her own family, she has turned them into gifts for neighbors and friends. She also brings treats to school during finals week.

“Yes, it’s a lot of work and a lot of time, but the giving part of the cookies is what is rewarding,” Brusnahan said. “The kids look forward to it, and I know how much the people we give them to appreciate it.”

Traditions like Brusnahan’s work to keep families close while also serving others. This attitude of giving enhances everyone’s holiday experience.

Holiday baking not only brings delicious treats from the oven, but also memories that can be cherished for a lifetime. 

When the season gets hectic, remember that it’s those special family moments which bring families together when it is most important.