Kids of immigrant parents know that Christmas traditions weren’t typically a thing. That is why I am making it a priority to create memories for my kids around the holidays! They will remember the things they did with the people they love far more than the gifts they unwrapped. One tradition I want to uphold for them is making Christmas cookies and gingerbread cookies for decorating! As stressful and MESSY it is to have them bake with me, I hope they will have fond memories as they grow older. Part of that means I have to work on my patience, lol!

For the past 4 years, I have made my dear friend’s eggless gingerbread cookie recipe. It’s good because it keeps in the fridge for about 2 days, so it can be prepped ahead of time for a gathering. This year was the first time since 2019 that we had family and friends over to decorate the cookies, and it’s a heartwarming tradition for me.

Last year the kids and I made thumbprint cookies and biscotti together, but I ran out of time this year. I love this thumbprint cookie recipe from Sugar Spun Run.

We did manage to eke in some chocolate chip cookies for Santa, though!

I also love my neighbor’s annual cookie swap. It is such a fun and yummy get together for just the moms of the neighborhood. We look forward to it every year! Thank you to my sweet neighbor Barbara for being an amazing host!

We took our older two daughters to see The Nutcracker this year. It was an amazing performance, but I think my oldest was into it while my middle daughter could not keep her very loud commentary to herself (“Wow how did she do that???” “It’s taking 45 hours!!!” “I’m thirsty!!!”). Hopefully next year she will be more civilized for the ballet, ha!

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and holiday season in 2022!