A Cookie Cutter Set

Long before Pinterest could puncture my creative bubble, there was the nativity Christmas cookie cutter set. 

I sometimes call Pinterest the dream site: I can only do those projects in my dreams.

Christmas baking has always been a special time of sharing holiday love in our family. I keep telling myself that, anyway. Over and over.

When I had seen the cookie cutter set on display, it seemed to fit that goal. The box seduced me with photos of beautiful cookies in the shape of Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus in a manger. A little piping of frosting, a few sparkles in the right place, and we would have a unique nativity set.

And the best part was that we could do this project as a family with everyone helping.

A Special Family Project

I bought the set.

Yes, I knew we wouldn’t get the cookies quite as perfect as the photos. We had a two-year-old at the time. I knew he would produce a cute but goofy little cookie. 

It was OK. I could overlook the children’s immature attempts. They were children, after all, and still developing their fine motor skills.

I forgot to factor in their mother.

I Knew We Were in Trouble

The family had gathered around our dining room table, frosting and decorations at the ready, waiting as I pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven.

Baby Jesus in the manger resembled a toasted marshmallow.

The sheep – and I’d made lots of them – all were blimps. Some had short fat legs but, since you couldn’t tell where the head was, the legs could have been prickles, too.

Great. Christmas porcupines. Or cantaloupe.

The camels’ longer legs had grown together while baking. 

“Is this a tree?” asked the six-year-old, pointing to a former camel cookie.

The shepherds had morphed into tall planks of fencing. Or maybe a Volkswagen bug. It was hard to say.

 Kneeling Joseph was now a giant S. 

This Didn’t Slow Them Down

The kids were game. They slathered on frosting that was so thin that the blues and oranges for the wise men’s gowns flowed together, making a muddy brown. 

Well, I think those were the wise men because of the lumps at the top, which I identified as crowns. Maybe they were cows, in which case the muddy brown frosting made more sense.

There was a stable printed on the back of the box that could be assembled as the backdrop. I tossed that idea after our older son frosted an angel as though it were a donkey. I couldn’t see displaying these peculiar little figures.

When we were done, with sticky frosting on our fingers and sparkles drifting to the floor, I studied the blobs of icing and cookie. 

“Well, this didn’t work out quite as I had hoped,” I told the family.

My husband surveyed the table, surrounded by sets of eager young eyes, and picked up a cookie. “Then we’d better destroy the evidence.”