And she has just loved it! She will usually ask us each day if she can "open my stocking?". Although, Isaac isn't partaking of the sweet treats inside the stockings this year, there is a special toy for him in the very last stocking to be opened on Christmas Eve. So we didn't forget to include the little guy :)
We also baked Christmas sugar cookies with Maddie for the first time this year. She was very good about not eating the "yucky" raw dough and gently cutting out shapes with the cookie cutters. However, she did want every cookie to be in a train shape. Trains and cars are what this little girl loves right now!
After the cookies has been baked, we let Maddie pick a cookie to frost, decorate and eat. She picked a train one, of course!
She got a little carried away and spilled almost an entire container of sprinkles onto the table. And then did what any sensible kid would do and began shoving handfuls of sprinkles into her mouth! My mom then had to mention the time when my sister and I spilled a container, like a Sam's Club sized container, of multi-colored round sprinkles all over the kitchen while making Christmas cookies one year. She was still finding them in the nooks and crannies of that kitchen the following summer!
Little Man got to enjoy his first Christmas cookie too.....
And here is the finished product of our efforts that night:
I also wanted to include the recipe in this post. These are by far the easiest and best Christmas cookies I've made! My mom found the recipe years ago (when I was college, I think) and we've been making them ever since. And yes, this recipe was and may still be used for the official White House Christmas cookies!
White House Sugar Cookies
Makes approx 2 dozen cookies
1/2 c white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter, softened
1. Combine sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy, about 8-10 min with mixer.
2. Add eggs and vanilla and blend.
3. Mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to batter until dough forms.
4. Form a ball with dough and wrap in plastic wrap, chill for 2 hours or overnight.
5. Roll on lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
6. Place cookies on baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or lightly greased with cooking spray.
7. Bake at 350 degress for 10-12 min until lightly browned.
Sugar Cookie Icing 
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
1 c powdered sugar
2-4 tsp milk, depending desired thickness
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp almond extract
food coloring
1. In small bowl, stir together sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. Add more milk if icing is too thick.
2. Divide icing into bowls and add food coloring as desired. After about a half hour or so the icing will harden on the frosted cookies and they can be stacked in a container.
We also attempted a gingerbread house for the first time this year. Yes, we are all a little crazy and overachievers over here :) We had 2 failed icing attempts that lead to my mom's brilliant idea of hot gluing the house together. And then, after much internet research, our third icing attempt was finally successful! So although the house is held together with a mixture of glue and icing, you can't really tell and I think it came out pretty well in the end with some decorating help from Maddie and my sis :)
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