Thanksgiving Cookies

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

2025 Blog #45

November 24, 2025c

Thanksgiving Cookies

Just yesterday, we had a gathering of grandsons in my kitchen. Nana was guiding them in our seasonal tradition of baking and decorating cookies. We don’t just do Christmas cookies. We tend to bake cookies for every holiday of the year. We bake them for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Resurrection Day. Yesterday, of course, we all baked Thanksgiving cookies.

To be honest, the boys actually don’t do much baking. Nana is usually in charge of that. The boys help with decorating the cookies. For every hour of decorating, we usually spend two hours cleaning up the icing and the sprinkles. The ratio of decorating vs. cleaning is a little off, but I am glad that we do this for every holiday.

Over the years I have had people ask me why we don’t just buy cookies. The people who ask me this usually had a favorite bakery in mind. I certainly have no objection to bakery cookies. They taste good but buying cookies would deprive our family of a wonderful experience.

If I had gone to the bakery, or the supermarket, for cookies, what experience would that have given my grandsons? Doing a family activity together, with a family dinner afterward, will give them and experience that they will never forget.

I believe in families spending time together. I think that it helps mold the character of children and teaches them valuable lessons. During the hours of cooking and cleanup, we have a lot of dialogue. These are bonding and teachable moments which can be obtained no other way than spending time together.

I have fond memories of my childhood extended family spending a great deal of time cooking and baking together. It would have been easier to buy food, but we would have had less bonding and learning time together.

This Sunday, and this coming Thanksgiving, are times to bond, to learn, to pass on stories of family history. I hope that all families will take this opportunity. It might be easier to buy, but there is no substitution for families cooking, baking and spending time together.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed and may you build blessed memories you can be thankful for.

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