When Andy Williams sings “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” I can’t help but sigh and agree. I love the holidays and absolutely everything that comes with them, from the music and decorations to the food and traditions. Of course, at the very top of this happy list is the time I get to spend with my family.
In fact, it's a little festive family time that gets my holiday spirit going every year. For the last five years T. and I have been hosting a Rogers Christmas fun day with our nieces and nephews (unfortunately this year the boys had hockey, boo). We host the kids for an afternoon of cookie decorating and crafting while their parents slip away for an afternoon of shopping or better yet a date.
This is one of my most cherished traditions and I look forward to it more than the kids or their parents I’m sure. Having been hosting this grand event for a while, T. and I have learned a few tricks and tips for refining the day and ensuring it will run smoothly. I’d like to share some of our holiday wisdom with you, in hopes you’ll start this tradition in your family. It really is the best way to kick-start the season.
1. Bake a double batch of cookies. Kids don’t exactly savour the task of decorating and you don’t want to run out of cookies too quickly.
2. Personalization is always a win. This year I used Williams-Sonoma’s Message-in-a-Cookie Cutters ($30) to make gingerbread people with the girls’s names on them. They thought it was amazing and Chantel pointed out I could also use the cutters to make cookie gift tags (we’ll see).
3. Take shortcuts, kids don’t care. This year I decided to buy Betty Crocker’s incredible Decorating Cookie Icing ($5, available grocery stores across Canada). These easy squeeze tubes not only saved me from having to make icing but they also made for way less mess. Score!
4. Don’t mess with the best. Mrs. Field’s Sugar Cookie recipe from Mrs. Field’s Cookie Book ($17, available at Chapters) is the best one I’ve tried. The cookies keep their shape and are very tasty. I tried mixes and other recipes but this one is the best.
5. Use plates and parchment paper for protection. Layer your table in parchment paper and give each kid a plate to pour the sprinkles on. This won’t spare you all the mess but it helps (a lot).
6. Always have a backup plan. Eventually the cookies will run out and you’ll want another activity for entertaining. This year we got the girls to help us decorate our tree and we pulled out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for watching. Other years we’ve made ornaments, painted portraits and turned clothes pins into reindeer.
From my family to yours, here’s hoping this is the start of a new tradition that will lead to many happy holidays to come.