The Gingerbread Man is Coming to Town!

Once upon a time, there was a father who really loved gingerbread men. So, he made up a Christmas tradition for his sons and daughter. On Christmas Eve the Gingerbread Man would come to town and give all the children their very own gingerbread men to eat.

This father was my grandfather and my father has passed this tradition down to me. Every Christmas Eve as I was growing up, my sister and I would get a special bakery-fresh gingerbread man of our very own.

I looked forward to that gingerbread man and had a ritualistic way of devouring him. First the arms. Then the legs. Finally the head, leaving a rectangular cookie, which I nibbled on throughout the day.

Even after I moved out on my own, my father kept up the tradition. Every December, I'd receive a care package from him with my Christmas stocking stuffers, Christmas gift and a gingerbread man carefully wrapped in bubble wrap.

The funny thing is, when I was growing up, I thought this was some old Scottish tradition. I imagined that there was a long history behind the Gingerbread Man and that children overseas were delighted each year by a guy in a gingerbread man suit handing out gingerbread man cookies.

Nope. No such tradition exists outside my family. My grandad just truly loved his gingerbread.

Good thing I love gingerbread, too. I can tell you, I really looked forward to that package every year!