Every December I look forward to enjoying our yearly traditions as a lot of you do. We don’t go to holiday parties or have a house-full of people, but we look forward to decorating, baking cookies, and starting new traditions for our family. I began a tradition of baking cookies for a local ARMY National Guard Unit in 2014 but missed one year, unfortunately, so this is year 5. I call this tradition “Cookies for Troops” and it’s one of the top things I look forward to the first weekend of every December.
One of our ARMY National Guard Units has about 75 amazing men and women and I bake cookies for their annual holiday party. I bake around 350 of them. Sometimes it’s just chocolate chip, some years I add peanut butter blossoms and sugar cookies. Which kind I bake depends on how my arthritis feels that day, but I always get it done even if I have to ask my husband for help stirring. My 11 and 12-year-old even helped me this year, so that’s a fun addition to my tradition which I’m so thankful for.
I don’t do kind things expecting anything in return, so when I was given a Certificate of Appreciation from the Unit signed by the Company Commander and First Sergeant, you can imagine my surprise! They even included a coin from the Commander. A few years ago, they gave me a special glass Christmas ornament and that definitely wasn’t expected either. These men and women don’t owe me anything, and they went out of their way again to thank me for my cookie donation that’s meant to thank them for all that they do. I’ll always treasure these gifts and will continue my annual “Cookies for the Troops” year after year.
Do you do anything for Active Duty Military or Veterans for the holidays? Maybe you can start your own cookie tradition. <3