Annual Conventions are powered by volunteers.
And volunteers are powered by…well, Christmas Cookies, of course!
Each Annual Convention features a Hospitality Room where attendees can relax and socialize between many busy convention activities, grab a cup of coffee, and experience a wide range of home-baked Christmas Cookies donated by fellow members.
Members can also enter their baked delicacies in the Annual Convention Christmas Cookie Contest!
Entries are judged using the following criteria, each graded between 1 and 5 points:
- Christmas Appeal: Does it look like a Christmas cookie? In other words, something special.
- Appearance and Freshness: Uniform size, freshness, no burned edges.
- Texture/Mouth Feel: Is it dry? Are the ingredients fresh?
- Overall Taste: Is it a good cookie? Are the ingredients well-balanced?
If two entries tie in points, the decision comes down to which one scored higher in Overall Taste.
Official Christmas Cookie Contest entry kits are available at the Convention Registration Desk. One dozen of each cookie entry are submitted along with the cookie recipe. Including the recipe with each entry is very important as you will discover below. Each entry is labeled in such a way that prevents the contest judges from knowing who submitted the cookies. Members may submit as many different entries into as many different categories as they want. Of course, all the excess cookies from these contest entries are most appreciated as donations to the Hospitality Room.
Each entry is submitted into one of these Categories:
| Bars | |
| Drop | |
| Pressed or Molded | |
| Refrigerator | |
| Rolled & Cut | |
| Candy (all types) | |
| Special Regional Category, selected for each convention: |
| Lansing, Michigan | 2014 | Polish | ||||
| Lancaster, Pennsylvania | 2015 | German | ||||
| Rye, New York | 2016 | New York Black & White | ||||
| Asheville, North Carolina | 2017 | Shortbread | ||||
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 2018 | Ohio Buckeye | ||||
| Lancaster, Pennsylvania | 2019 | Dutch Sand Tarts | ||||
| Chicago, Illinois | 2022 | Chocolate Chip | ||||
| Arlington, Virginia | 2023 | Salty Oat | ||||
| Dallas, Texas | 2024 | Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies | ||||
| Chicago, Illinois | 2025 | to be announced | ||||
| Norfolk, Virginia | 2026 | to be announced |
In late 2020, in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of The Golden Glow of Christmas Past®, an exclusive limited edition Christmas Cookie Book was produced, featuring 88 of the first- and second-prize-winning recipes in each category from the 2013-2019 Annual Conventions. This special publication, available to members only, was wildly popular. Twice as many copies were produced than originally planned, and even those sold out very quickly. The Christmas Cookie Book was designed in a roomy three-ring binder so that it can be readily expanded with even more prize-winning recipes from Annual Conventions yet to come.
| Project Manager: | Jean Marshall |
| Editors: | Kelly Ryan and David C. Nelson |
| Design & Illustration: | Sue Wille |
| Proofreader: | David C. Nelson |
| Sponsors: | 2020 Pittsburgh Convention Hosts: Jean & Tom Marshall |
Annual Convention Christmas Cookie Contest Chair History
| Cookie Contest Chair | From | To | ||||
| Malcolm Rogers | 2000 | 2012 | ||||
| Kelly Ryan | 2013 | 2018 | ||||
| Doreen Tango Hampton | 2019 | 2019 | ||||
| Jennifer Breckinridge | 2022 | 2022 | ||||
| Dianne Farmer | 2023 | 2023 | ||||
| Roberta McCard | 2024 | Present |