It's almost time to make the Kieflies! In case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, it's a family tradition of ours. The women get together before Christmas and spend a day making Kieflies (they are cookies) for the holiday season. We must make about 20 dozen cookies (at least) and we pass tins of them out to friends and loved ones. And yes, we do eat a bunch ourselves while we are making them and throughout the rest of the season. We don't give them all away!

This tradition started with my great, great-grandmother and has been passed down to my great-grandmother, then my grandma (who I desperately miss at this time of year) and then to my mom and now to us girls. It was only a few years ago that my grandmother, mom and aunts all used to gather at my mom's house to make the Kieflies. So much has changed in just a few years. Now it's my mom (leading the pack) my aunt, my sister and myself. We have a lot of fun on Kieflie day - laughing and joking around, gossiping and discussing things going on in our lives. It's a special day for us.