It's apparently Bake Cookies Day. For real. Get on it! Now, about the title of this post. During the holidays, for me cookie perfection isn't about fanciness or uniformity; instead, I want to make cookies that: 1) are delicious; 2) are easy to make; 3) yield generous batches (i.e., work well for gifting); 4) can be made in small bite-sized portions (i.e., make for happy sampling); and 5) freeze well (so you or your recipients can save leftovers for a less cookie-saturated time). Here are 10 cookies that fit that definition of perfection for me.

Click through the links for recipes, additional photos, and lots more culinary inspiration from these fine bloggers!

1. These gingerbread chocolate chunk cookies are my new favorite. I'm actually going to start making them year round they are so awesome! We actually have a stash in our freezer right now and it's like a little gift every time I take out a cookie and enjoy it post-defrost.

2. These melt-in-your-mouth Italian wedding cookies are so pretty and snowball-like; perfect for holiday gifting.

3. I love peanut butter cookies. I especially love when it only takes 3 ingredients to make them.

4. I'm intrigued by these ricotta cookies, especially given that they make a big batch (perfect for gifting). I'm planning on making these this weekend; I know Laurel and Violet will love adding the sprinkles!

5. I love a classic sugar cookie and this recipe doesn't require chilling!

6. The flip side of #6 are these dark chocolate sugar cookies. I love how dramatic they are!

7. I always gravitate towards chocolate crinkle cookies at a holiday spread but for some reason have never made them. I'm changing that this year!

8. Reese's cookies = another cookie that I always dive for at the cookie plate. Can't wait to make a batch of these!

9. I love the unexpectedness of offering lemon sugar cookies at Christmas. So cheerful!

10. I also love these coconut lime snowball cookies, which I made last weekend for a cookie party. The butter cookie dough can be used as a base for countless other cookie options.

Image credits: all images via sourced links above

Friends, do you know about the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility? It's kind of a mouthful of a name and I didn't know much about them until I was looped into managing a project for them this past spring, but as soon as I was briefed, I was like, I am totally on board with these people. FAAR works to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking, and also to promote responsible decision-making about alcohol. Part of this effort involves helping parents learn how to have challenging conversations with their kids.

While I was working with FAAR, they asked me to shoot some video Q & A, sharing tips about having tough conversations with kids. In the first video (which launched in the fall) I shared about one of my favorite ways to get kids talking. Today I wanted to share a clip about one aspect of alcohol responsibility that totally changed once kids were in the picture.

This topic is particularly top of mind given that holiday parties are in full swing. The reality is, kids soak in everything you do (and ultimately want to mimic you); modeling responsible behavior is one part of the equation and initiating conversation is another part. Just last week I engaged Laurel in a conversation about alcohol -- partly inspired by the fact that she was working on D.A.R.E. homework, and also because I was thinking about this clip and wondered how she perceived my social alcohol intake.

It turns out I'm going to be working with FAAR more formally in 2015 so I'll have more to share. I have a lot of thoughts and personal narrative around alcohol, and to be frank, I need to think about what and how I want to share some of my stories. But at the moment, I'll just say that I would love for you to join me -- let's holiday responsibly together; the below video clip shares one simple way.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsEW62AGg_o?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Listen to more real advice from my fellow bloggers and visit Responsibility.org for additional resources and tips to keep teens safe. You can also join the conversation via #HolidayResponsibly.

Disclosure: This post reflects a sponsored editorial partnership with FAAR; all opinions/storytelling are, of course, my own.

I love cookies. Truly love them. And from the reaction I received on Instagram and Facebook when I posted this picture, clearly y'all love cookies too. On Thursday I'll share more cookie inspiration, but first, here are two amazing cookies I brought to a cookie party on Sunday. They're classically holiday (in the buttery goodness sense) and worked well as small bites for the sampling party. Many people asked for the recipes/sources, so here they are:

1. CHEWY CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

These chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies via Martha Stewart are simply perfect. There's fresh grated ginger in them but it's not overpowering and I love the marrying of flavors. My only deviation from the recipe is that I rolled the balls to 1-inch (smaller than in the recipe) so they would be bite sized.

2. COCONUT-LIME SNOWBALL COOKIES

This was my first time making these coconut-lime snowball cookies and they were AWESOME. This recipe comes from Baking Illustrated, with annotations below.

Cookie ingredients:

• 2.5 cups flour
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softed but still cool, cut into 16 pieces
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

Glaze ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1.5 cups (6 oz) confectioners' sugar
• 1.5 cups sweetened shredded coconut, pulsed in food processor until finely chopped, about 15 1-second pulses

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt, and lime zest in an electric mixer to combine. With the mixer running on low, add butter, 1 piece at a time, until the mixture looks crumbly, about 1 minute longer. Add vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until clumps begin to form.
2. Turn dough into a bowl and knead/press together until dough sticks together. Don't panic if there are some crumbly bits...just stick it all together. Split dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheets about 1.5 inches apart and bake about 12 minutes, until bottom edges very lightly browned. Cool completely.
4. To make glaze, whisk cream cheese, lime juice, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Dip cookie tops in glaze and scrape away excess then dip in coconut. Let stand until glaze dries, about 20 minutes.

In both cases, it works great to prep these cookies ahead of time. Our cookie party was after the Girls on the Run 5K so I knew I didn't have time to do everything in one day. I made both doughs and rolled out the balls on Saturday (the dough balls need to be refrigerated anyway so it works perfectly). I baked the cookies Sunday morning and then after we got back from the run, I did the final icing/coconut step for coconut-lime snowball cookies.

If you have any left, these cookies also freeze well!

Image credits: Christine Koh

One item on my minimalist holiday manifesto was about creating opportunities for together time projects. The girls and I had such an awesome time working on clutter-free kid-crafted gifts last weekend that I'm fired up for more this weekend! Following an earlier post on 10 easy DIY food gifts, I wanted to share 15 more easy DIY food gifts, spanning sweet to savory. Click through the links for recipes, more photos, and further creative inspiration!

1. All your gift recipient needs to know how to do is turn on their oven and they're on their way to fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies thanks to these adorable cookie dough gift packs.

2. I always feel more virtuous when I opt to snack on nuts (vs. truffles) during the holidays. Even if they are, uh, covered with sugar. I love that you only need four ingredients (one of them being water) to make these cinnamon sugar almonds.

3. I'm admittedly a little stunned by the (healthy) brilliance of this clementine wreath.

4. Bust out that sexy crockpot for this slow cooker apple butter. Oh how I love the "toss everything in the pot" gift prep!

5. Give the gift of an ice cream sundae pack. The site offers free printable tags but this would be equally adorable and appreciated without coordinated tags!

6. I love the idea of gifting savory with this marinated cheese and olives recipe.

7. These s'mores kits would be a huge hit with the kids. For inexpensive wrapping, package up in treat bags.

8. Homemade granola in cellophane bags will make for a happy holiday breakfast gift.

9. These cranberry pistachio energy bites offer a more healthy gift alternative.

10. Seriously: caramel dipped pears.

11. Another great caramel and pear alternative? This salted caramel pear butter.

12. I want to gift -- and consume -- copious amounts of this bacon salt. BACON SALT!

13. Save your loved ones some cafe bucks with this chai tea latte mix.

14. Roasted pumpkin seed brittle will be worth the extra teeth brushing.

15. A few years ago I shared about my obsession with this trifecta of appetizers. This trio of cheeseballs was AMAZING and the yield was larger than the recipe projected. I'm thinking it would be cute to make these as mini cheese balls to gift special, cheese loving friends.

Image credits: all images sourced via links above.

As I mentioned yesterday, this weekend we got into the holiday spirit by getting our tree and working on some holiday projects. And while I do like making things festive, I also want (and need!) it to be relatively quick and not break the bank! I still love and think about the post my friend Gabrielle Blair shared about creating instant holiday mojo via smell, sound, and light and wanted to share my favorite ideas for easy and affordable holiday decor today.

1. Evaluate (and rearrange) what you have. It's easy to fall into a pattern with how you decorate. And sometimes, all you need to do to freshen up decor is to rearrange your existing holiday decor items. For example, instead of decorating by category (e.g., Nutcrackers, birds), try grouping items by color.

2. Incorporate items from nature. Sometimes the best decor elements are right in your backyard. Send your kids foraging for fallen branches! Branches in a vase cost zero dollars and can look amazing.

3. Incorporate inexpensive grocery store items. Our backyard is tiny and rather bare (so, not much in the way of foraging opportunity per #2)) so over the weekend, I bought a bundle of greenery and berries at Whole Foods for $12 and arranged them in three vases of different heights (see image at bottom of post). Another awesome grocery-store idea? For a lightning fast, affordable centerpiece, toss clementines and pinecones in a bowl and DONE.

4. Keep to a simple color palette. Decorating is way easier -- and more harmonious -- when you limit the color palette. Other than the ornaments on the Christmas tree, I'm keeping things simple with green and white, nature-inspired. I haven't purchased holiday decor in ages, and over the weekend bought gorgeous white LED branches (both garland and standing branches) + white pierced candle holders (that I can use year round) from West Elm. They were on sale and look amazing.

5. Leverage the sense of smell. As Gabby shared, the sense of smell is powerful! In my Eat Seasonal feature on cranberries, I included this cranberry infused simmering stove top potpourri. Add these items to your grocery list (#2 above)!

Our home redesign included a built-in bookcase near the entryway to better define the space in our open concept first floor. I arranged greens and berries in vases, along with the LED standing branches and pierced vases. So easy and pretty!

Image credits: all images via linked sites above, with the exception of the final image by Christine Koh

My sweet Laurel is a maker and around the holidays, she's always asking me about projects ideas. The Minimalist Parenting community loved this post on 14 kid-crafted gifts, so I figured -- what with the weekend coming up -- it would be fun to share 10 more ideas. And given my deep passion for clutter-free gifts, I've rounded up a collection of ideas that are CLUTTER-FREE. YAY! These items would be adorable for family, friend, and teacher gifts.

Click on the links below for the full tutorials, more images, and further creative content. And props to these amazing bloggers for sharing their DIY brilliance!

1. I've been obsessed with plants lately (and finding ways to bring more into our home). These DIY paperwhites would be such a lovely gift.

2. Homemade bath bombs in cute shapes = adorable. Extra awesome add-on: a coupon for solo tubby time to the recipient.

3. Kids can help mix ingredients and fill jars for this honey brown sugar scrub. Perfectly timed for desperately-need-to-exfoliate season.

4. Help your kids practice their knot tying skills with these ribbon tree ornaments. I'm a huge fan of the "use all the scraps" mentality!

5. I love clipboards for simple command centers and had never thought of how awesome it would be to give your kid creative freedom to create decoupage clipboards as gifts. So awesome.

6. Laurel became obsessed this year with homemade lip gloss. And why not? Just two ingredients and you're ready to roll. (Little baby food jars would find a great new life for this project.)

7. These cookie cutter bird feeders give your holiday cookie cutters another purpose while making for cute, clutter-free gifts for loved ones (and their backyard birds).

8. Attention partners of moms, print this World's Best Mom newspaper sheet and have your kid decorate it. Perhaps also enclose tissues. This will be a flat keepsake for your archives. Or you might want to frame it.

9. I love the mess-free nature of duct tape crafting! Have your kid give old frames a new life by duct taping them! You could also apply the decoupage approach of #5 to frames.

10. These citrus stamped tea towels are so cheerful, and totally doable for the younger crafting crowd.

So fantastic, right? Which project would your kids love? I'm thinking that the cookie cutter bird feeders are where we'll start this weekend.

Image credits: all images via linked websites above.

Few things exemplify the wrestling with abundance concept Asha and I discuss in Minimalist Parenting like the holidays. Too many things to do, too many things to buy, too many crazy people to deal with...the list goes on. And I'm by no means immune. Thanksgiving break offered a very clear reminder of what fills me with happiness and also what causes immense stress. So I decided that I wanted to create a minimalist holiday manifesto, and invite you to do the same. Intention setting is powerful stuff!

First, to clarify, as Asha and I discuss in our book, "minimalizing" is not about deprivation. I'm not asking you to give up shopping or family traditions. What I am asking you to do is to not be driven by "shoulds" and comparison...to prioritize, to become more mindful about your choices and intentions, to make choices based on what rings true for you and your family. Ultimately, the goal is to do more of what lights you up and less of what drags you down.

Over the coming weeks I'll share editorial geared towards making your holidays easier (while still being fun, beautiful, tasty, and generous in spirit!), but meanwhile, on this first day of December I wanted to share the 6 items on my manifesto. I hope you'll create your own as well. I'd love to hear what you come up with.

1. Address what is causing the most stress as early as possible. It's very clear to me what I'm most stressed out about this year. And when Jon asked how he could help me with it, I realized that it would be helpful to address the issue as early as possible so I won't sit with the anxiety for the entire month of December. (Also, as I was thinking about this issue, I was reminded of two really great back posts: Jane's on 8 ways to reduce holiday stress and Jules's on 10 tips for preserving holiday mental health. Definitely worth a read!)

2. Continue to recalibrate gifting. This is a big one. Though I do love giving gifts, I really don't love the pressure and volume around the holidays. I want to continue to recalibrate traditional gifting by either doing nothing (sometimes nothing can be a gift), focusing on giving one lovingly procured gift per person (rather than scurrying around trying to fulfill some sort of quota), giving small handmade treats (e.g., to neighbors and friends), and continuing my charitable giving efforts (for ideas, see these wonderful back posts by Isabel Kallman and Jennifer James).

3. Make togetherness part of the process. Though I love being able to set Laurel loose on kid-friendly DIY projects, I have also realized how powerful it is to make togetherness part of the holiday process. Laurel is someone who truly treasures together time, so I plan on focusing gifting efforts around easy projects we can work on together. I'll be sharing more editorial about easy DIY gifts soon.

4. Embrace the little (potentially quirky) things that bring joy. Everyone's priorities are different and that's part of the power in creating your own manifesto. This weekend when I ordered my holiday cards, it seemed totally crazy not to opt-in to Minted's free recipient addressing but I reminded myself that hand addressing is one of the ways I foster connection. It may seem weird, but I like to think of the recipient and send them good juju as I address their envelope. I decided to keep this task on my to-do list and pay for return address printing (since I definitely don't enjoy printing labels or writing my own address 150 times).

5. Make sure there is plenty of opportunity for laughter. A few weeks ago we hosted a last minute dinner party with neighborhood friends and it was a good reminder of how incredibly powerful laughter is as a mood elevator. I want to prioritize gatherings with people who make me laugh!

6. Edit the to-do list. Continually. One of my best life lessons has been about prioritizing and letting go. For Violet's first birthday, Laurel and I prioritized our to-do lists in order of fun and gave ourself permission to let items at the bottom of the list fall off. I'm already getting her to do this for the holidays (her original to-do list was tightly written, two-sided...), and will follow suit. The other bonus about editing? It will give you breathing room to put yourself first from time to time. So important.

I'm not kidding, I feel calmer and happier about the holidays just writing this! What elements speak to you? What do you want more of? What do you want less of?

Image credits: Christine Koh

So remember last week when I shared about how to create a gorgeous gallery wall, including my favorite picks from Minted's art marketplace? Well, my friends at Minted have followed up with a generous giveaway for you awesome readers: $350 of Minted credit towards your holiday cards! Crazy amazing, right? Check out 10 of my favorite picks from the Minted holiday collection and then enter to win via the Rafflecopter widget at the end of the post.

First, worth noting: the Minted holiday card collection offers wonderful flexibility; in most cases you can opt for a flat or foldover card (depending on how much content you want to include), choose from different colorways, and change the holiday greeting. Also, my mind is sort of blown that right now you can opt for free recipient address printing. No wrangling with mail merge -- YAY! Now, here are 10 of my favorite picks from the collection:

1. This Happiness Is... single-photo card cracks me up. I'm pretty certain "blankie," "milkie," or "chocolate" would be one of Violet's top words.

2. Break up the visual lines of the usual photo block card with this four-photo Prismatic layout. So modern and simple and cool! I am heavily leaning towards this one for our holiday cards.

3. This Merry Streamers design is bold, pretty, and so very festive.

4. Try a new approach to holiday cards (and create a keepsake for your family) with this Sparkling Be Merry ornament card.

5. The sparkly minimal aesthetic of the Modern Shimmer design gives a tasteful touch of bling, while otherwise allowing the beauty of a single family photo be the focal point.

6. The holidays or the turning of a new year call for the shimmery confetti in this cheerful Sprinkles design.

7. Want to create something more involved? This Family Recipes Holiday Booklette takes thoughtful correspondence to an entirely new level and would make for an incredible gift and keepsake.

Now, sometimes you just don't manage to capture a great holiday card photo...most of the time you're the one shooting all the pictures. BEEN THERE. No worries, there are many (close to 500!) gorgeous non-photo options.

8. This Modern Confetti design fulfills my obsession with gray and gold.

9. I love the symbolism of these Paper Cranes For Luck.

10. This Holiday Splashes design is so unusual; full of unique artistry and light.

Now, surely you're eager to order some gorgeous holiday cards, yes? Enter to win the Minted $350 gift credit giveaway! The one required entry is to leave a comment below about one of your favorite Minted holiday card designs. You can also earn optional extra entries by following Boston Mamas and Minted on Pinterest and Instagram. Just follow the entry prompts via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js

Image credits: all images via Minted

Today, contributing writer Hillary of Mass Audubon shares some helpful (groundhog, not football) trivia for Sunday:

There's no shortage of nature-related folklore out there, but one that has particularly captured the hearts and minds of kids and adults (thanks or no thanks to Bill Murray) is Groundhog Day. Every year on February 2, people across the country wait attentively to find out if this small furry little animal sees his or her shadow. As legend has it, shadow means six more weeks of winter, but if not, spring is on the way.

So just how did this tradition get started, and what is a groundhog anyway? Amaze friends and family with this groundhog trivia:

• The groundhog belongs to the marmot family, and goes by many names, including woodchuck and whistle pig due to the sound they make through their large teeth to warn one another of danger.
• They nest in burrows that can be up to six feet below ground. These burrows sometimes have as many as five entry points, consisting of an intricate network of tunnels that often total up to 40 feet in length.
• While hibernating, a groundhog’s body temperature drops from 90°F to 40°F, and its heartbeat drops from 100 beats per minute to 4 beats per minute!
• February 2 is the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
• Upon coming to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, German settlers brought a longstanding tradition known as Candlemas Day, which included a badger checking its shadow to forecast the weather. Since there were no badgers in Pennsylvania at that time, the settlers looked for the next best thing and chose the groundhog.

Celebrating Groundhog Day

While the award for the most famous groundhog in America goes to Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania, here in Massachusetts we have our own celebrity. Ms. G has been “forecasting” the weather at Drumlin Farm since 2008. In fact, there’s a petition and an official bill to make Ms. G the official groundhog of the Commonwealth.

Looking for ways to celebrate? Here are a few:

1. Come see Ms. G make her official forecast on February 2 at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln. In addition to her reading, there will be snacks, crafts, stories, and the chance to meet WBZ-TV meteorologist Danielle Niles.
2. Ipswich River in Topsfield will also be hosting a Groundhog Day Extravaganza on February 2, including nature hikes, snow sculptures, a groundhog obstacle course, crafts, refreshments, and more.
3. Pick up a copy of Groundhog Weather School or Go To Sleep Groundhogs, two fun illustrated books that will entertain and teach at the same time. Both are available at the Audubon Shop at Drumlin Farm.

So what do you think? Shadow or no shadow?

Image credits: Mass Audubon