May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter.

Every holiday season our family has traditions.  This year we want to share what makes our holidays sparkle.  We hope you enjoy!

1.  Walking the streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea to look at Christmas lights.  Take a stroll and soak it all in!

2.  Christmas Movie Night!  Celebrate Xmas with Clark Griswold, Charlie Brown and The Grinch. What is your favorite holiday movie?

3.   Buying and picking out the family Christmas Tree and decorating.  Ahhh the memories.  Stop by and check out the Hofsas House lobby tree!

4.   Putting out Santa's cookies and milk.  Don't let Santa leave on an empty stomach.

5.   Baking Christmas cookies.  Home baked cookies all the way.

6.   Hanging the Christmas lights.  You don't have to go all out, but a little color is a must.

7.   And our favorite Theis Family tradition is … Christmas Dinner.  Christmas traditions start at the dinner table.

Try Carrie's favorite holiday cookie recipe at home.  The cookie is the Sugar Zwieback.

Ingredients

Recipe makes 4 dozen

·    1 cup milk

·    4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

·    1/4 cup honey

·    1/2 teaspoon salt

·    2/3 cup white sugar

·    1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

·    1/4 cup warm water

·    1 egg

·    4 cups all-purpose flour

·    1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1.  Heat milk in a small saucepan until just starting to bubble. Remove from heat; stir in butter, honey and salt. Set aside and let cool. Set aside 2 teaspoons sugar. Stir remaining sugar into milk mixture. Let cool to room temp.

2.  In a large bowl, combine yeast and lukewarm water. Set aside 5 minutes for yeast to soften. Beat cooled milk mixture, egg, 4 cups flour, and nutmeg into yeast mixture.

3.  Knead dough in a bowl, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if necessary, until a smooth, soft dough forms. Divide dough into 8 balls 3 inches in diameter. Place balls 4 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets; pat into 4 inch rounds. Brush tops of rounds with water and    sprinkle with reserved sugar. Set aside, lightly covered with kitchen towels, about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Bake raised rounds 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven; leave oven on. Let cool on sheets 10-15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

5.  With a serrated knife, cut each round into six 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheets and return to oven for 5 minutes. Turn slices and bake 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until golden on both sides. Turn off heat and leave in unopened oven until cool, about 45 minutes. Store in tightly covered container.