Right about now you’re probably done recovering from your Thanksgiving day excesses and are bracing for the avalanche of  items on your holiday to-do list. As you struggle to make things merry and bright, let me share a little secret with you. There’s another holiday that’s just at your fingertips, one that requires neither wrapping paper, candles or naughty or nice lists. This Wednesday, December 4 is National Cookie Day!

What the Heck is National Cookie Day?

Who doesn’t like cookies? Whether you prefer them chewy or hard, dunked or crisp, everyone loves cookies. Their deliciousness should be reason enough to rejoice. And, apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so. As far as holiday celebrations go, National Cookie Day is a fairly recent phenomenon. Oddly enough, the idea originally sprung from the creators of Sesame Street who first referenced National Cookie Day on its 1976 Sesame Street Calendar. Shortly thereafter, Cookie Monster proclaimed it an official day in the 1980 Sesame Street Dictionary. in 1987, the joyfulness of a special day just for cookies caught the imagination of Matt Nader of San Francisco’s Blue Chip Cookie Company who thought, “It’s just like having National Secretaries Day… It’ll just be a fun thing to do.”

The idea caught on like wildfire and spread across the globe. And just like that, a new tradition was born. This December 4th, join people all over the world as they raise a chocolate chip cookie or two and celebrate National Cookie Day.

Best Places to Celebrate National Cookie Day

Of course there’s no place like home when it comes to indulging in a cookie or two- but- if you are looking for some official recognition of the fabulousness of all things cookie, check out these delicious options:

1. Mrs. Fields will give you a free cookie on Dec 4th with an in-store purchase.

2. Subway is launching its Dark Chocolate Cherry Bark Cookie on National Cookie Day (sorry, this one’s not free).

3. Whole Foods is offering its Prime Members a 35% discount on King Arthur flours, mixes and a variety of home-baked cookie add-ins.

4. Double Tree Hiltons are offering guests and non-guests a free cookie at their front desks. Stop in and say hi!

Best Ways to Celebrate National Cookie Day At Home

There’s something about cookies baking in the oven that makes a house feel and smell like a well loved home. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. If you don’t have a treasured cookie recipe of your own, the Food Network  and Tasty Recipes are  good places to start. Have your kids help pick out the recipes, gather ingredients and work with you to create your masterpieces. Let them decorate the finished product if it’s that type of cookie.  No getting upset if a flour fight breaks out.

2. If you’ve got the time- and your kids are old enough, make an “Iron Chef ” or  “Chopped “or themed cookie challenge. It’s family fun time.

3. Start dinner with dessert.

4. Read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, by Laura Numeroff or tell any tale about The Gingerbread Man at the dinner table.

5. Play a cookie for your thoughts at the dinner table. Ask everyone at your dinner table to describe the cookie they would create that would make them world famous. What would the ingredients be, how would you cook it, what would it look like, what would it taste like, what would you call it? What would your ad be? 

6. If your kids are old enough, ask them to research cookie jokes and share them at dinner time. Here’s one to get you started- Why do basketball players like cookies? Because they can dunk them….

7. Play Fun National Cookie Day Facts- Ask these questions at dinner and see who knows the most about cookies:

  • What is the most popular BRAND of cookie? Oreo
  • What is the most popular cookie in America? Chocolate chip (53%) followed by peanut butter cookie (16%) and oatmeal (15%)
  • What year was the chocolate chip cookie invented? 1938
  • Who invented the chocolate chip cookie? Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the Toll House Cookie
  • Where was the fortune cookie invented? California!
  • How big was the world’s largest cookie? 8,120 feet! It was made by the Immaculate Baking Company in Flat Rock, North Carolina in 2003. It was a chocolate chip cookie that weighed 40, 000 pounds and had a diameter of 101 feet! Now that’s a cookie!
  • How many cookies do Americans consume in a year (all totaled)? Approximately 2 billion cookies a year. That’s 300 cookies per person!

8. This one is just for the grown ups: If you want to sample some adult  “Cookie Cocktails” check out the recipes HERE.

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Celebrating Nation Cookie Day is one way to turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary day. Isn’t that what living a luscious life is all about?  How will you celebrate National Cookie Day? Please share your secrets in the comments below. Thanks…Smiles

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Serve it up with kickass conversations with your kids. Repeat.