Adventures in Childhood…Christmas cookies

Confession: I am not a fan of activities that leave messes.  I wish I was the mom that always said “yes” to play-dough and finger painting and playing with sand.  But I am not that mom.  So when Justin asked me when we were going to make Christmas cookies with the kids, I did my best to try and get out of it.  I’m not kidding.  I suggested he do it with them while I was out running errands.  Or I’d take our little guy out for a bit and he could do cookies with the older two.  I even suggested that he and I could make cookies together one night after we put the kids to bed.

Guess what we ended up doing?

We made the cookies with the kids.  All three of them.  And as suspected, it got messy.  The table, the floor, the kitchen counters, the sink, 6 little hands and 3 little faces…all messy.

And I was OK with it.  Because they loved it!

Mackenna and Caleb took their jobs as cookie decorators very seriously.  Lucas on the other hand, was only serious about sneaking cookies!

This next image almost didn’t make the cut until I noticed the mess in the other room on the left side.  Having their things all over our house means that they still enjoy doing their things in our presence.  I don’t want the mess, but I also don’t want to take that for granted.

He had absolutely zero interest in helping.  None.  He was only interested in consuming their masterpieces!  I love those little tippy toes!

He knows who to ask.  That big sister of his will do just about anything for him.  She adores him, and he adores her right back…especially when she’s handing him a freshly frosted cookie!

Favorite image coming right up:  Love her expression as he snatched that cookie from her hands!

I’m so glad we ended up making Christmas cookies WITH the crazies this year!  My floors weren’t really all that clean to begin with anyway.  And it was so fun that I think we’ll turn Christmas cookie baking into a family tradition.  Because some December not too far down the road, my three littles will have grown into three teenagers.  And I might find myself alone in the kitchen, wishing one of them would join me for some holiday baking.  Perhaps if I invite them in to it now, so that they always remember being a part of it, they’ll continue to want to be a part of it even when they’re big.

So, yes to cookies.  Yes to the mess.  Yes to making memories with my favorite people!

Merry Christmas!