For almost thirty years, I’ve set aside the month of November for candy making, cookie baking, and football watching.

Why do I do it? (I’m talking about the cooking.)

It started my first Christmas in Tennessee. I needed gifts for my new friends and co-workers. Rather than trying to buy things, I did what Dad did when I was a kid—I made candy and cookies.

What I didn’t expect was it to grow the way it did. During my last years of “full production,” it took me ten to twelve hours to put together all the plates and tins of goodies for the people on my list. While I mailed some tins to friends and family in other states—Alaska being the furthest away—I personally delivered most of them.

The joy on the faces of those who received my homemade gifts kept me doing it year after year. Or so I thought. Turns out, that wasn’t the only reason.

The year before Mom and Dad’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, I warned everyone there would be no candy or cookies the next year because I’d be in Texas for a couple of weeks, celebrating my parent’s anniversary.

When the following November rolled around, what I discovered is I missed making the goodies more than the recipients missed receiving them. It just wasn’t the Thanksgiving and Christmas season without my holiday baking.

Every year since—even when I planned to be out of town—I’ve made at least a few batches of fudge, pralines, peanut clusters, Christmas cookies, and . . . well, you get the idea.

One perennial Christmas favorite is my family’s Christmas Cake Mix Cookies. Click here and get a copy of this easy and versatile recipe. Enjoy!