The holiday season is great for a couple of reasons. One is definitely putting up the tree and decor. And the other is the countdown to the next year! Last year, my daughter brought home a gingerbread man cookie she decorated in her preschool. I loved it and instantly knew I wanted to start a new family tradition (one that is an old tradition though). I wanted to decorate cookies every year with her.

I am not a serious baker. I am the occasional home baker who can bake decent breads, mean chocolate chip cookies, cobblers and cakes. But I’ve never been one for decorating mainly because it requires a lot of patience and takes time. Decorating cookies for Christmas is great though because you do it once a year and then go back to baking your favorite cookies that don’t require the fancy decoration. So this year I started a whole new tradition of decorating cookies for Christmas with my daughter. And I can promise you it is a lot of fun. 

Here are some pictures of the cookies I made. We also decided to throw in some princess-y cookies because my daughter is obsessed with fairies and princesses now. And the totally random plane and rainbow with a very July 4th vibe!

Oh did I mention this is my first time decorating cookies ever?!

On a side note, I really wanted to finish this post by adding a few thoughts about holiday waste. Celebrating holidays are fun and important! But grandeur is not necessary to get the most of out of your holiday.

1. Gingerbread house – First of all, this is my opinion. They don’t taste very good. They are also super wasteful. I have never met anyone who actually loves to eat the gingerbread house with a passion. Yes, they are cute and can add to the christmas-y vibe. But the same can be achieved by placing a fake gingerbread house in your home.
2. Live trees – Just why?! I am someone who loves traditions that have a purpose and also don’t disturb the environment. Why people will go through the hassle of hacking live trees every year is beyond me. I’m assuming they had this tradition back in the day when towns/villages were less populated and they genuinely needed a reason to hack trees and make more space to develop the towns. I’m not sure this makes sense anymore.
3. Lights – This is a touchy subject for many. Although I have never had a massive display of lights, I’m also equally guilty of putting up lights myself. The amount of electricity we waste every year just to make our homes look pretty in the holidays is wasteful. If you really must have lights, Amazon has some great solar lights that add the same cheer minus the energy waste. There is also no need for timers and reminders to turn on the lights.
4. Christmas Cards/New Year Greetings – I used to think seasons greetings were the best thing ever. As an adult, I love making cards myself because it gives me a chance to do some artwork. But the amount of paper and unnecessary use of postal (both local and global) services we go through during the holiday season just to send out 7 words “Merry Christmas and a happy New Year” to people we don’t visit often seems like a terrible idea.
5. Christmas sweaters and PJs – First of all, sweaters are used for a maximum for 1 or 2 months here in California. Unless you live in the North Pole or anywhere that gets extremely cold, it seems like a crime to buy new sweaters every year. Also, don’t get me started on the cute family PJs just to open presents and click family pictures on Christmas Day!

I could go on and on with what is wasteful. But the point I’m trying to make here is “let’s be mindful of our choices”. If there is anything we have all learned and experienced this year from the pandemic, it’s that we have to assess our choices every single time. You can still have the best decor and display in town. Just make sure it’s reusable and less wasteful.

Note: My favorite Christmas tradition is solving a jigsaw puzzle on Christmas Day with my family. What’s yours? Leave them in a comment!