Aldi's Ugly Sweater Cookie Kit Has Arrived For The Holidays

The holidays are a time for joy and cheer, but to be honest, they can also be a time for stress. If you're traveling this season, dealing with traffic and long airport lines can be headache-inducing. If you've got kiddos, their schedule is probably lax, which means they'll be relying on you to keep them entertained. So, to keep your spirits bright, a holiday-themed activity could save the day. Food, of course, brings people together during this time of year and is a great way to calm some of those outside stresses. One look at Pinterest, and you'll find hundreds of festive recipes for a crowd.

You and your family could make a DIY hot chocolate charcuterie board, complete with marshmallows, chocolate candy, and your favorite flavored syrup. Otherwise, no holiday season is complete without an elaborately built gingerbread house. There's even a simple trick to keep your gingerbread house from falling apart (it involves using burnt sugar as glue). Or, if the thought of constructing an entire cookie house makes you shudder, there's always good ol' Christmas cookie decorating. If the thought of spending hours baking the cookies and making the frosting doesn't appeal to you, there's a solution. This year, you can pick up a cookie kit that cuts down on the work, allowing you and your family more time for the fun part: slathering on icing and eating your creations.

Cookie decorating made easy

Aldi fans can typically count on their favorite store to keep the holiday-themed treats coming. Earlier this month, Aldi released its beloved holiday-themed cookie cutters to help home bakers create whimsical designs on your homemade cookies — but the chain isn't stopping there. This week, Instagrammer @adventuresinaldi spotted Aldi's returning ugly sweater sugar cookie kit. Made by Crafty Cooking Kits, the loot includes all the dry ingredients for eight to 10 sugar cookies, which are ready to be mixed into a dough, shaped with a sweater cookie cutter, baked, and decorated with red and green icing, piping bags, and candy and sprinkles to your heart's desire — as ugly or cute as you'd like.

This isn't the only cookie decorating kit available at Aldi. Joining the ugly sweater kit is a "ninjabread" box containing the supplies to create gingerbread men kicking in different directions and wearing colorful chocolate buttons. And for those hoping to make their own Christmas cookies with unique decorations, Aldi appears to be gearing up for them as well: In a rare move, the chain is stocking up its seasonal products to include name-brand icing from Betty Crocker and miniature candies from Reese's, M&M's, and more.