Tradition - part 2

My hope is that by sharing the little things that have become holiday traditions for me, it will spark your memory...and your imagination. What are your traditions? What will you pass on to the next generation?

It's not every year that I get Christmas baking done. When I can fit it in, I'm always glad I did. There have been years I've baked with friends and others I've gone solo, taking my time, tweaking the recipes as I see fit.

When I was a kid, I "helped" Mom in the little kitchen that seemed so big at the time. I remember those rich, cinnamonny, nutmeggy, smells that fill the house only in the last two months of the year. At her direction, my brother and I would dump (pre-measured) ingredients in a bowl or stir or push candied cherries into the tops of unbaked cookies or use a spoon to drop cookie dough onto a big metal sheet.

She also let us cut out and decorate sugar cookies. I stuck with Christmas-themed shapes; I believe he added dinosaurs. My trees were green with carefully placed candy "ornaments;" his were much more colorful.

They all turned out delicious.