With the holiday season fast approaching, your To Do list is likely growing with every day that passes. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do before the holiday rush hits with a vengeance. By making these easy treats ahead of time, you can start preparing for the holiday season and ensure that you always have something on hand to pull out for a last-minute guest or forgotten party.

The Benefits of Prepping Ahead

Sure, there are plenty of things you could be doing right now to prepare for the holiday season. Making freezer treats might not be anywhere on your mind! When you prepare ahead, however, you’ll experience several key advantages.

  • You can enlist the kids, which both makes prep easier and allows them to get firsthand experience making many of their favorite holiday treats.
  • You have time to set up a video camera at the table so that in later years, the kids will be able to watch you make those family favorite recipes. Some things just can’t be committed to paper!
  • You’ll add more variety to your holiday treat list, since you’ll have more time to put together those favorite treats.

Cookie Dough

Holiday treats freeze family healthy

Several varieties of cookie dough can be frozen ahead of time so that when you’re ready to make cookies over the holidays, all you have to do is pull them out, put them on a cookie sheet, and pop them in the oven!

Step One: Prepare cookie dough according to instructions, including chilling, if necessary.

Step Two: Roll cookie dough into cookie-sized balls. Place them close to one another, but not touching, on a plate or cookie sheet.

Step Three: Chill rolled cookie dough balls for approximately one hour.

Step Four: Remove cookie dough balls from the fridge and place them in a freezer bag. Label them with relevant information: the type of cookie dough, the baking instructions, and the date you made the dough, for example.

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, simply pull them out of the freezer, place them on your cookie sheet, and bake! Most cookies will need an extra minute or two in the oven, since they started out frozen. It’s just that simple! Obviously, this will work best for rolled cookies; cutout cookies will need to be rolled, cut, and stored between pieces of parchment paper in order to retain their shape.

Holiday Breakfast Treats

Holiday treats freeze family healthy

When you roll out of bed on a holiday morning, the last thing you want to have to worry about is putting together an elaborate breakfast for the entire family. Of course, you could opt for cereal; but why not have the holiday breakfast of your dreams without the muss and fuss of putting it together that morning? Try some of these great freezer dishes.

Other Freezer-Worthy Treats

Holiday treats freeze family healthy

You want to be sure that you’re putting the right treats in the freezer–after all, preparing elaborate treats only to have them destroyed by the freezing process is incredibly frustrating! These treats, however, were designed to be freezer-friendly.

No matter what treats you’re hoping to enjoy this holiday season, see if you can get a head start on your baking by preparing them ahead of time. The more items you can store in your freezer, the easier it will be later to toss them in the oven, prepare them, and put together a great spread for your friends and family. Not only that, prepping ahead of the holiday season substantially reduces your stress–and gives you more time to enjoy your favorite aspects of the holiday.