Hannah Claudia : Christmas Cookie Box 2021

Today, for me, holiday season is synonymous with cookie season, but it wasn't always like that. Truth be told, I didn't grow up in a homemade-cookie-kind of home. In fact, I distinctly remember the extravagance involved in baking boxed funfetti cupcakes for my 4th birthday - my overprotective dad held out his hand to prevent me from jabbing curious fingers into the hand mixer as it was running; my mom carefully poured over the instructions on the back of the box; egg shells were splayed across our small Brooklyn table. I don't even know if edible cupcakes came out of the oven we didn't know how to use! The whole situation reminds me of David and Moira attempting to "fold cheese" in Schitt's Creek.

But, like other parts of life that can improve with age, things have changed, and I'm excited to advance our Christmas cookie tradition to the next level. Last Christmas, sweet friends from church caught wind that I'd be spending the holidays alone. Their daughters have the purest hearts and included me as a stop on their list of Christmas cookie deliveries. Services were exclusively online, so I hadn't seen Anna and Julia in months. I glowed at the sight of them, standing outside of my building cute as buttons, bundled in their winter coats with a box of assorted, handmade cookies in hand. That week, every time I opened the box for my evening cookie time, my heart felt so full from their thoughtfulness and my fingers tingled with excitement, unsure which of the 9-10 different cookies to taste.

The way Anna and Julia shared their love through baking has left deep impressions. Every Friday, their family would drop off desserts and a dish at L Street Mission, enough to help nourish 100 bellies. Their partnership with L Street spread to a church-wide effort to make mains, sides, and desserts for the guys every week. Over time, thanks to the overflow of support and communal attention raised, L Street now only needs Citylife to provide a meal every other week. Can you believe these girls are only in middle school?!

My sweet pals inspired me to pass some love around to friends and family in the form of sugar, butter, and flour (i.e. cookies) this year, and I'm in the process of brainstorming ideas to spread cheer year-long through baked goods in my area. While dessert isn't a "nutritional necessity," its ability to nourish and communicate care is unparalleled. Here's a look at 2021's box - special shoutout to my family, who tolerated me hogging freezer space to store batches of cookie dough, and my dear friend and junior buddy, Reem, who gifted the paper houses!