One of my favorite holiday traditions that always gets me in the Christmas spirit is baking shortbread cookies. I have fond memories of rolling the dough out with my mom, selecting which cookie cutter to use (to maximize the dough layout, of course) & then that smell. Mmmmmmm…nothing beats the smell of fresh baked cookies.

Shortbread dough is much easier to cut into cookie shapes if it’s cold, so we’d usually make a big batch & then store it in the fridge. Roll out a couple of pans of cookies, then throw it back in the fridge – we had fresh baked cookies every couple of days!

I’ve been so busy with all the craft shows that I still haven’t had time to pick out a Christmas tree, but I did manage to clear a spot in the living room tonight, so at least that’s progress. I’m glad my boys took it upon themselves to don our house with Christmas lights. Just sitting at my desk and looking out the window I can see them twinkling warmly. And then I pretend it’s snowing instead of raining.