Holiday Baking Extravaganza 2011

Yesterday was our Annual Holiday Baking Day.  We started at 10:00AM, and were done by 4:00, which is record time for us (usually it's more like 5:00 or 6:00).  Without a doubt Holiday Baking is my personal favorite family tradition (and yes, we have a lot to choose from).  I just love it.  And every year, it gets easier and easier because the kids get bigger and bigger.  I remember many, many years of baking with one baby on my hip, a snoozing niece laying on the floor with a bottle, diaper breaks, meltdowns.  Those days are long gone.  Now the kids are actually a valuable resource instead of a distraction.  My two youngest nieces did ALL of the chocolate making by themselves (peanut butter cups & peanut clusters).  We made a BOATLOAD of Chex Mix, Salted Caramel Popcorn (which I will post the recipe for later), these new Christmas Swirl Cookies (which were a big hit), butter cookies, cutout sugar cookies (which the kids decorated - then "auctioned off" to each other) and Magic Pretzels (which are literally almost gone already).  Here's a few things I learned yesterday:

1. I am not good at math - despite meticulously going over all the recipes to figure out what we needed, and a marathon shopping trip - we STILL had to send my Dad and Tim to the store (not once, not twice) THREE TIMES to pick up supplies.  Oops.
2. Zachary has an unconventional way of decorating Christmas cookies, to say the least (for some reason he added popcorn on top of all his cutout cookies)!
3. Never leave fresh baked holiday goodies out unattended when you have a teenager in the house (Sam literally ate almost ALL the magic pretzels while the rest of us slept).
4. Annual family traditions are a must for a close knit family.  I have no doubt that after my Mom, Aunt, me and my sister-in-law are long gone, our children will carry on the tradition of Holiday Baking with their kids.  
5. Not only are we making yummy treats, we're making memories.  And that's what it's all about, folks!