In the early 90’s my husband and I were both commuting to work 45-60 minutes one way, we had 2 busy little kids and we were working on remodeling our home. Not quite sure how we did it all!

When the Christmas season was approaching, I knew I would not have time to write a message to everyone on our Christmas list…this was before email and smart phones – and when you still have to pay extra for long distance calls. Christmas was about the only time we touched base with many of our friends and family. So I decided to just get a photo taken of our little family, have wallet-sized prints made and attach that to a Christmas letter that I typed up and copied.

We continued that tradition each year, taking a family photo and typing up a summary of the years events. We would write a paragraph about each child and describe what they had learned, celebrated, or achieved. Then we would add a few paragraphs about family, work and community events.

We now have 28 years of letters, summarizing each family member for each year. When we started this tradition, our oldest son was 3 and was just learning to ride a bicycle with training wheels and our oldest daughter loved taking her dolls for walks in their stroller.

It brings back so many memories to go back and read through all the letters. It is a wonderful way to document family history. I have made copies of each letter and put them in protective covers in a notebook, one for each of our children. So each children will have a summary of our family, starting in 1992.

It is easy if you start early. When you flip to your 2021 calendar just make notes about events throughout the year. New jobs, classes, internships, new babies, trips, honors, hobbies, projects, etc. If your family is on Facebook or other social media, that is another way to gather information. Then in early December just compile a list for each family member. I usually write up a rough draft and have each person edit their paragraph.

As a parent, I love reading the past letters…so many good times…and the kids do grow up so fast. Photos and letters really help you remember all the fun and special times your family enjoyed.

Think about doing a Christmas letter to share with others the news about your family and to document your family history. Start in January and you will be ready in December. It will bring you joy for years to come!

Happy New Year!

Christmas baking time! You can take your favorite recipes and add holiday candies or colors to make them more festive. And if you put them in a Santa cookie jar – surely there is no guilt in eating holiday cookies…tis the season!

Whisk together dry ingredients, except sugars in one bowl. In another bowl, cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients.

Mix in the holiday M&Ms. This time I also added some dark chocolate chips.

Form the dough into balls using about 2 tablespoons of dough in each. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake about 10-12 minutes. To make them extra pretty, gently press in extra M&Ms on top of the cookies. Cool on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.

So pretty! Ready for holiday gathering…or snacking!

Have fun with your holiday baking! Share with your friends and family. Merry Christmas! Enjoy!

Print Recipe

M&M Cookies

M&M cookies are always a favorite, but using holiday M&Ms make them extra fun!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cookies

Servings: 32

Author: Maria Lichty

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups M&M milk chocolate candies*
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
• Extra M&Ms, for pressing into cookies, optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together for about 1 minute. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredient. Stir in the M&Ms.
• Form the cookie dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Note-you can chill the dough for 30 minutes or up to 72 hours in the refrigerator before baking.
• Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. You can also gently press extra M&Ms on top of the cookies to make them extra pretty. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Notes

For these Valentine cookies I used 1 cup of Valentine M&Ms and 1 cup of white chocolate chips.  I used an additional 1/4 cup of M&Ms and 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips to decorate the tops after decorating. The sprinkles are just for fun…they don’t stick very well – but it makes the cookies pretty when you serve them.

This recipe is from Two Peas & Their Pod blog, https://twopeasandtheirpod.com

Christmas Crack Chex Mix is irresistible! A little salty, a little sweet, a little crunchy…and a little chocolate! YUM! And so very easy!!!

You just need Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzel rods, cocktail peanuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips and shortening or solid coconut oil.

In a large bowl, mix the cereals, pretzel rods, peanuts and M&Ms. Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet. In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips on low power. Pour melted chocolate over cereal mixture an stir.

Place the mixture on the baking sheet and push down evenly. Place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to set. Break into clumps and store in an airtight container.

To make the Christmas Crack extra festive, add about 11 ounces more red and green M&M’s after you have mixture coated with chocolate.

A fun gift to give for the holidays! Watch for Christmas ribbons, jars and containers. Who wouldn’t like to get this for a Christmas snack?

Fun packages come in individual sizes too! Decorate zip-lock bags for the holidays. Great for guests to snack on for the way home.

Print Recipe

Christmas Crack Chex Mix

Irresistible holiday snack!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cool in Refrigerator20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chex, Chocolate, Christmas, M&Ms

Servings: 15 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups Chex cereal
• 4 cups Cheerios
• 4 cups pretzel rods
• 3 cups salted cocktail peanuts
• 11 ounces red and green M&Ms*
• 24 ounces white chocolate chips
• 3 1/2 tablespoons shortening or solid coconut oil

Instructions

• Place Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzel rods, peanuts and M&Ms in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Place parchment sheet on a large baking sheet. Set aside.
• In a microwave safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips and shortening or coconut oil and microwave it at 50% power in 30-second increments until chips are melted.
• Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal mixture and stir to combine.
• Place the mix on the baking sheet and push down evenly with plastic spatula.
• Place the baking sheet in a refrigerator for at least 20 minutes until set. Then break into clumps and store in an airtight container. YUM! Enjoy!

Notes

*You can add more M&Ms to make these look extra festive! I put in about 11 extra ounces of M&Ms after it was mixed up – adds a pop of color to your Christmas Crack.

Below you will find decorations for the Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments that I used for gift tags.