Tomorrow is COOKIE DAY!

Our first Cookie Day since returning to our Home State--and I am looking forward to it. For those who don't know, Cookie Day was founded by my mother many, many years ago when she found herself in her small rowhouse kitchen trying to make and decorate Christmas cookies with four children underfoot trying to "help." To save her sanity, she set up the dining room table with work stations and cookie decorations. That put us kids in a different room from the hot oven and really sparked our creative juices. I'm not sure which of my older sisters got the idea first, but the two of them started using tweezers to place the colored jimmies just right on the cookie--giving the reindeer harnesses and outlining angel wings and the like. Over the years, the cookies have gotten more and more creative. In recent years, my nephews took a fleur-de-lis shaped cookie and decorated it to look like a turtle and a fish! SO cool.

Anyway, Cookie Day has evolved over the years from a simple afternoon of artistic endeavor to and entire day of artistic endeavor and family fun. We watch videos, sing Christmas carols, participate in contests (like guess how many candies are in the jar) and generally enjoy each others' company. Coming to Cookie Day has been a rite of passage for all our future mates--this year, my son's fiancee will be coming for the second year and my niece's are bringing their boyfriends. Dad starts us off with a brunch of bagels, buns, donuts and juice at about 11:00, with snacks and drinks available all day and dinner comes after all the cookies are cut and baked. My sisters and sisters-in-law are bringing food to go along with the lunch meat Mom and Dad have already prepared.

So, for now, it's off to bed and sleep so I can go to COOKIE DAY tomorrow!