Decorating sugar cookies during Christmas is long, cherished Shaner “family tradition”. Each year, many delightful hours are spent carefully embellishing each and every cookie as though each were a work of art!
With our masterpieces completed, we celebrate by hanging our most treasured cookies on our Christmas tree for all to enjoy!
Though she always looked forward to the end result, my mother-in-law, Nancy, was always amused at the labor of love that would be spent on the intricate details of each cookie. On a family vacation to the Outer Banks, Nancy humored me when I expressed interest in a trip to a specialty cookie cutter store. Little to my knowledge, she made the secret purchase of what she thought to be a most unusual cookie cutter -- a lobster!
When Christmas rolled around, I surprised Nancy with a most beautiful, bright red, sparkling lobster cookie! Though she jokingly protested the thought of a “Christmas” lobster cookie, that’s exactly the cookie chosen to grace our Christmas tree that year. The smile on her face was unforgettable as she lovingly pointed out the lobster to each of our Christmas visitors!
Thus began a family tradition.
Sadly, Nancy passed away in October of 2004. Our family could almost not bring ourselves to put a lobster on our tree that year. Yet, remembering the amount of joy that one silly cookie brought our dear Nancy, we did.
Though many tears were shed that year, the red, sparkling, lobster brought equally joyful tears of precious memories.
To this day, the Shaner family always lovingly places one, very special lobster cookie, in each batch of cookies.
