A Christmas cookie tray earns its keep twice a day in December, once when the batch comes out and once when the neighbors arrive. This one is oval, which is the shape that holds a round of cutouts without the corner gaps a rectangle leaves you. The gingerbread motif does the seasonal work, so the cookies do not have to be decorated within an inch of their lives to look like an occasion.
Use it as a cookie platter for a swap, as a Christmas serving tray at the buffet end of the counter, or as a standing display for whatever came out of the oven last. It doubles as gingerbread kitchen decor on a stovetop or an open shelf through the weeks when the kitchen is the room everyone stands in. An oval serving tray reads softer than a sheet pan and steadier than a plate, and among holiday serving trays it is the one that makes putting cookies out feel like actually serving them.
