Today is baking day at the Bates house. I have recipes heaped in a pile on the counter, a list of things to buy at the grocery store, and the family invited over to help.

My family has been doing this for so many years that I can already make some predictions.

• My hubby won’t come near the kitchen until the close of the day…or should I say until there’s a need to sample the goods.
• Someone is going to miss an ingredient for one of the items we make. (Sure hope it’s not me this year.)
• My granddaughter will decorate two, maybe three cookies before she chooses to play with her toys.
• Christmas music will be playing the entire day and we will be singing like the Mormon Tabernacle Chorus…or at least we will think we sound that good.
• We are sure to run out of a key ingredient before it’s needed which will force someone to make the dreaded trip back to the grocery store.
• The day will be filled with moments of laughter and fun.
• We will all be exhausted by the end of the day.

Christmas baking is a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation in my family. I can still see my grandma pulling pans of cookies out of the oven only to replace them with whatever kind of cookie or pastry was next in line. She orchestrated the entire day in her frilly homemade apron. She would tuck her perfectly curled hair into a hairnet and dig her farmer callused hands deep into the pastry dough kneading every inch of it by hand. The sweetest smells of Christmas lingered in the air as we eagerly waited to see what could be devoured first.

This is the day that the sounds of Christmas will fill our heads and the family memories will fill our hearts. Yummy!

Blessings,

Brenda Bates