Christmas Traditions

My parents and baby brother came out to Indiana-land for Christmas this year, our first in the new house. One of our big family traditions is the annual sugar cookie baking and decorating on Christmas Eve. A mandatory family activity, it has become more entertaining now that all family members are old enough to consume more festive beverages.

Each person in the family has assigned tasks. The Momcat rolls out the cookie dough and supervises me and BabyBrother while we take turns cutting out shapes. In addition to the traditional cookie shapes, we also have special items such as the Christmas duck, Christmas elephant, and Christmas upper peninsula Michigan. Really these are just normal items, but we get away with making them by adding the word "Christmas" in front of them. I think we started doing them just to bug the Momcat, but now they are an engrained family tradition.

This year Daddo took the lead on adding the food coloring to the frosting.

He clearly took this assigned task very seriously. 

Finally, Daddo, BabyBrother, the N-boy and I sit down to decorate the cookies. I make cute little snowmen, and happy angels and pretty Christmas tress. Daddo makes axe-murder snowmen and incandescent light bulbs. Sigh.

The only rule is that they all have to be decorated before anyone is allowed to quit. 

I have pictures of the finished cookies. But I've decided that they are too disturbing and un-festive (see note above on axe murdering snowman) to post.

 So instead, I will end with pictures of me and BabyBrother with our cousins son, who is the cutest little almost three year old!