A family tradition

“It started 32 years ago when I decided to go to my parent’s farm in Red Lake Falls with my daughters to bake some cookies with my mom. Who would have known that it would blossom into a yearly tradition with my family and now my own grandkids?” says Margaret Rasmussen.

Margaret & Randy Rasmussen live in Thief River Falls. Randy just became a full-time mail carrier in Goodridge last May when Aldon Hyland retired. The Rasmussen family tradition has been going on for 32 years; it involves baking cookies…A LOT of cookies!

Margaret and Randy’s girls grew up going to their grandparent’s home (Joe & Louise Kees) the weekend after Thanksgiving to bake Christmas cookies and treats to give to their teachers, neighbors and, of course, for them to eat, too! The tradition continued to grow with the addition of Margaret’s siblings, nieces and nephews. 

“Now that my parents have passed away those memories are even more precious to us. We all learned so much from my mom and can pass that on in her memory,” says Margaret. The group has even put together a Christmas cookie book that has all of their favorite recipes inside. They now get together at the Rasmussen home and continue the tradition while remembering all the fun times they had with Louise and sharing their cookies as gifts co-workers, friends and neighbors.

As we know, baking doesn’t come cheap, but members of the group watch for sales on their supplies and split the cost on ingredients. At the end of the baking day, the goods are divided between four families. “We have so much fun each year that I encourage other families to start their own traditions with simple things such as baking cookies,” suggested Margaret.