Traditions

Tonight, we are partaking of a Jones Family Christmas Tradition. We just simply call it "Cookies," but we each know what that means. It means that I spend an entire day making and baking my secret recipe sugar cookie dough, which has been perfected through the years. It is not too sweet and not to puffy or too crispy. And, I have a secret method for rolling them out and baking them as well. All of this work insures its perfection. Then to top it all off, I make my secret frosting. All of this grand secrecy makes the perfect Christmas Cookie.

Then, each family member invites someone over and we spend hours decorating the cookies. Then, at the end of the evening, an impartial judge (this person is usually the least creative person who decides cookie decorating is beneath them) judges the cookies and announces the "winner." I wish I had pictures to post of past winners. The ones that stick out in my mind are John Ford's "Poached Egg" and the "Highlander Boot."

While cookie decorating may sound normal and typical, it is not. There are rules, people, that must be followed or fingers get chopped off. There are important rules. Rules like the, "No globbing a bunch of junk on your cookies" rule. Rules like the, "No eating for 24 hours" rule.(Seriously, it is important to the cookie frosting tasting its optimal best!)

In the past, we used to wrap up the cookies and give them away to old ladies and families on my husband's "Deacon's List." But now, we just all take a few, give them to whomever we want, and eat the rest.

All that to say, tonight is the cookie war. Let the games begin. Pictures tomorrow.