I love baking cookies, so when Linda Robitelle, the activities director at the Chenango Valley Home, told me I would be baking cookies with the residents, I was excited. But when I arrived at the Canasawacta Street location and started preparing recipes I’d never seen before, I was thrilled.

While snow was flying outside on Thursday afternoon, I was warm and cozy in the activities room rolling out dough for a holiday party for the residents, their family and the staff.

Nearly a dozen women sat around the table. Some, like me, were preparing cookies by rolling out dough and spooning out the filling. Others sat at the other end of the table preparing centerpieces. While I had just begun, the women had been working for an hour or two each day to prepare other treats and goodies, for both the party and for the carolers and entertainers who visit during the holiday season.