Advent Calendar : Christmas Cookies

Did your family or ancestors make Christmas Cookies? How did you help?
Did you have a favorite cookie?

At Christmastime there always seems to be quite a bit of desserts and cookies.  I can remember mom and grandma having cookies at Christmastime.  Today mom still has a "baking day" just before Christmas when my nieces come over and help get ready for the holiday. At my house, my wife and the girls love to have cookies, and I enjoy helping them to eat the cookies.  My favorite cookie is a snicker doodle, though it doesn't have to be Christmas to eat those.

I asked mom to share a bit of her memories about Christmas cookies:

My mother, Bonnie, loved to cook and we always made and decorated cookies at Christmas.    I can remember one year when mom,dad and I painted cookies using egg yolk paint and other embellishments.   It took a lot of time but we were so proud of our tray of beautiful cookies.   One of Bonnie's favorite cookies to make were Pecan Crescents which I receive a request to make them all the time..   Dad loved the snappy turtle cookies. 

Another memorable time was when we had a German foreign exchange student living with us for the year.   Suzanne had brought a German Santa cookie cutter and we made authentic German Santas.    We had a difficult time finding the right spice for it but  luck was with us and we were able to follow her German recipe.

Hearty Greetings for Christmas

Mr. Clarence Stuber
Spencerville, Ohio
R.R. # 5


Dec. 23, 1923


Dear Uncle:


I am wondering what old Santa will bring me.  And what you will get me.  Elvin is all right.  I am going to hang my stocking up to morrow night.  Hope you get along all right while aunt Vera is out here.


Bye. Bye.  Mildred


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This card, postmarked December 24, 1923 from New Corydon, Indiana, was sent to my paternal great-uncle, Clarence STUBER, by his niece, Mildred MILLER.  The postcard mentions her younger brother, Elvin.  Mildred and Elvin were the children of Galen and Mary (HALEY) MILLER; Clarence STUBER was married to Mary's sister, Vera HALEY.

Advent Calendar : Holiday Parties

Did your family throw a holiday party each year? Do you remember attending any holiday parties?


My family would gather together on Christmas Eve at my Grandma Wright's house and then on Christmas Day we would gather at my Grandma LeMaster's. It was a fun time to get together with family. As a kid, the holidays were one of the main times to see my cousins.


As kids, at Grandma Wright's house we would always pose for a family picture. It was a way for the kids to keep track of how tall we were. Grandma Wright had a plastic Santa that had a scroll with a list of each one of our names on it. Today, my parents keep up this tradition with their grandkids.

December 1971

Grandma LeMaster's house was always packed with our large family and there was always a lot of food - plenty of mashed potatoes, noodles, etc. After lunch would be the passing out of presents, then watching sports and falling asleep on the couch.

December 1983

One year that stands out in my memory was a Christmas party which must have been in 1983. My grandmother Wright was very ill, and had been living with us. She wanted to go to Anderson where her sister was having a Christmas party. The weather was blizzard-like conditions, but she was determined that we had to go. Somehow, dad was able to drive us through the drifting snow and bitter cold to my great-aunt's house so we could spend some time with them. I don't remember much about the party other than the fact that weather-wise, we should have stayed home, but the visit made grandma happy. She passed away the next spring.