Holiday Baking Plans

Christmas has never been my favorite holiday. I think a lot of it is because for me, it meant trying to stay out of the way and avoid being noticed. My mom would be busy and anyone who came around (with the exception of a couple people) would either ignore me or make rude remarks.

I wasn't good enough for them and only really worth noticing when they wanted an emotional or verbal punching bag. The ones I actually wanted to spend the holidays with, I wasn't allowed to. So holidays that revolve around 'family' don't hold a very warm place in my heart.

The only reason I make an effort to celebrate at all is for my daughter. To try and get myself in a more upbeat state of mind, I do something I love (which is the only thing that helps me look forward to it at all) I bake.

Especially this year, money is fairly tight and we can't really go anywhere but I still want to do something for a few people. On Christmas eve, we will be making a couple stops just to drop a few gifts off at the door. In addition to this, I thought, since I like to bake, I could also put together a cookie platter.

First thing this morning I got up, did the few dishes that were in the sink from my husbands snack before bed last night and started working on the cookies. Over the next few days, I will bake a batch of two everyday.

Today it was orange chocolate chip. I'm also thinking of making a marshmallow chocolate chunk cookie. I could have done that today since it uses the same base as the chocolate chip , (minus the orange zest) but I'm low on energy today.

I'm also thinking of making a batch of chocolate mint cookies. I made them last year and they were a hit so I'll probably include them this year as well. I also think I'll do a candy cane cookie. I've got a few different ideas for what might be the final cookie but I'm not entirely sure on it yet.

I do need to pick up some freezer bags later today though since I used my last one for the first batch. I currently have 36 cookies sitting in my kitchen that I have to keep my husband and daughter from decimating before they can make it into the platters I'll be putting together once all the different cookies are baked.

Holiday baking is the one thing that gets me excited for Christmas. I was hoping to make rum balls as well but that's not in the budget this year. Maybe next year. I love baking but I never eat much of it anymore. My sweet tooth isn't what it used to be.

I was thinking of making fudge but truthfully, I don't think I have the energy to do that along with everything else I already have on my list. I may not be able to celebrate at someone elses home but I'll still make sure they have something from me even if I can't afford to get store bought gifts for people this year.