A Guest post by Melissa C.

After all the years hard work, after shopping for Mario party supplies, blowing out birthday candles, taking the kids to soccer practice, and making dinner, the holidays are here. The truth is, in many ways we celebrate the holidays more for our kids than we do for ourselves. We want to create family traditions that will survive generations, and we want to take the seasonal opportunity to bond with our little ones. Every December, thousands of families get together to bake and decorate sugar cookies. Decorating sugar cookies may already be a tradition in your family. This year, get the kids in the kitchen and try out some new sugar cookie decoration techniques to add new fun to a family tradition.

– Chocolate Sugar Cookie

Chocolate junkies will appreciate this chocolate version of the traditional sugar cookie. Simply incorporate cocoa powder into the dough mixture with flour and your dough will turn into a nutmeg-mocha brown. Add a touch of cinnamon to the mixture as well for taste. After refrigerating the dough, roll out into sheets on a powdered countertop, using not flour but cocoa as the substance which prevents the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Now that’s good!

– Stained Glass Windows

For those who like hard candies, you can make a gorgeous stained glass look on your sugar cookie by crushing up tiny candies and putting the pieces in the middle of the cookie dough prior to baking. Watch these cookies closely, though–you don’t want the sugar to burn!

– Black & Whites

Try this sugar cookie spin on a traditional favorite by making Christmas black and whites. Simply melt chocolate chips in a double boiler on low heat. Be patient, chocolate should not melt right away. Stir gently until the chocolate is fully melted, and then dip circular sugar cookies into chocolate, halfway covering the cookie. You can leave the half-dipped cookie as is, or you can put red and white sprinkles or candy canes on the melted chocolate.

The sugar cookie tradition never gets old, especially with decorating tricks like these. Keep your tradition fresh by incorporating these new tips into your holiday festivities.