This should be an annual public service announcement ...

 

 ... so I'm posting it again this year.  It's a reminder to check your pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients you'll be needing.  If you don't usually do this sort of planning, I think you will be surprised what a difference it makes.  In fact, up to the point of writing this post I had not yet checked this for 2024, and my hubby (who started baking in late November) has already run out of red decorating sugar!  He also ran out of the Andes mints he uses for his famous chocolate mint cookies -- a real problem which necessitated a run to the store.

In my Christmas notebook I have a list  (pictured at top of post -- double-click to see it better) titled "Long-Term Holiday Shopping List".  I think it was an idea from FlyLady some years back.  It includes not just baking ingredients, but also groceries for our traditional Christmas Eve meal, ingredients for a few freezer meals and kitchen gifts, and more. It's so helpful to check this list against your pantry and fridge contents before beginning to bake or cook for Christmas, to find out what will be needed.

I'm sharing my list, but really it will differ for everyone.  In fact, as I looked it over I saw that there were a number of things I needed to add.  So I added them in, and have now actually printed out the revised list and placed it in my notebook.

LONG-TERM HOLIDAY SHOPPING LIST

Extra flour
Extra sugar -- brown, white, confectioners
Quick oats
Corn syrup and molasses
Extra cornstarch
Extra butter
Lemons and oranges
Walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds
Raspberry and apricot jam
Baking chips -- white, semisweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and peanut butter
Marshmallow fluff
Evaporated milk
Sweetened condensed milk
Baking chocolate -- unsweetened squares and cocoa
Extracts -- almond, orange, lemon, maple, vanilla
Whole spices -- cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice berries
Ground spices -- cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves
Almond bark -- white and chocolate
Candy -- Hershey kisses, Andes mints, candy canes, M&Ms
Colored sprinkles
Red and green colored sugar
Stretch-tite plastic wrap (best for wrapping cookie trays)
Extra foil, waxed paper, parchment paper
Cheeses -- shredded cheddar, blue cheese, ricotta, Neufchatel, mozzarella
Half-and-half cream
Bacon
Celery
Extra eggs
Frozen chopped broccoli, spinach, pureed squash
Lasagna noodles
Sour cream

So make up your own list, making note of specific ingredients required by your own favorite family recipes for the holiday.  Then check it against what's in your pantry.  I hope this idea saves someone a trip to the store!