In this guide · 8 sections
A MacKenzie-Childs Christmas cookie jar comes in two quite different forms. A figural jar, such as a Santa or a bear, is a holiday piece: it comes out after Thanksgiving and goes back on the shelf in January. A glass jar with a hand-painted check enamel lid stays on the counter all year and gets dressed for December with ribbon and a few seasonal pieces. If you want one jar that works twelve months a year and holds a full batch, choose the glass jar. If you want the jar itself to say Christmas, choose a figural, and check its capacity before you bake for it.
Every piece linked below was in stock at Dekado when we wrote this in late October.
Which MacKenzie-Childs Christmas cookie jar: figural or check-lid glass?
Choose a figural jar if the jar is the decoration
A figural cookie jar works as a seasonal centerpiece, and as a gift for someone who already collects MacKenzie-Childs. The trade-off is capacity. Much of a figural’s volume goes into the shape, so it holds less than its height suggests. The Mocha Bear Cookie Jar stands 12 inches tall and holds 48 oz.
Choose a glass jar with a check enamel lid if it will stay out all year
The glass cookie jar is 6 inches wide, 8 inches tall and holds a full gallon. You can see what is inside, and the lid carries the pattern: each one has a heavy-gauge, hand-glazed steel underbody with hand-painted checks. Because the decoration is all in the lid, the jar looks like an everyday kitchen jar in March and like a holiday piece once you add a bow.
What size MacKenzie-Childs cookie jar do you need?
Every glass cookie jar here has the same dimensions whatever the lid pattern, as does every sweets jar.
| Jar | Size | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Glass cookie jar with check enamel lid | 6″ wide, 8″ tall | 1 gallon (128 oz) |
| Glass sweets jar with check enamel lid | 5″ wide, 6.5″ tall | 0.5 gallon (64 oz) |
| Mocha Bear Cookie Jar (ceramic) | 9″ wide, 12″ tall | 48 oz |
| Check it Out Santa in Chair Cookie Jar (ceramic) | 5.5″ wide, 9″ long (as listed) | 80 oz (as listed) |
The bear is half again as tall as the glass cookie jar, yet it holds a little over a third as much, and less than the smaller sweets jar. If you bake in full batches, the 1-gallon glass jar is the practical choice. If the jar is mostly for show, a figural is fine.
The Santa in Chair figures come from Dekado’s and other retailers’ listings, not MacKenzie-Childs, and “9 inches long” is not clearly a height. If it must fit under a cabinet, ask us before ordering.
The sweets jar as a hostess gift or candy jar
The half-gallon sweets jar suits peppermints, wrapped chocolates or a small batch of shortbread, and it is easy to carry to a party; MacKenzie-Childs features it among its top gifts this season. Of the three sweets jars in this guide, the Sweets Jar with Courtly Check Enamel Lid is the only one whose MacKenzie-Childs page says the glass is dishwasher safe (the lid is still hand-wash). The Mocha Check and Emerald Check sweets jars are hand-wash throughout.
Christmas figural cookie jars: Santa, bears and snowmen
Santa cookie jars
The Check it Out Santa in Chair Cookie Jar is the Santa we have in stock. It is ceramic and listed at 80 oz, more room than the bear. MacKenzie-Childs no longer lists it on its own site, and Dekado’s listing gives no care instructions, so ask us before washing it.
Bear cookie jars
The Mocha Bear Cookie Jar is 9 inches wide and 12 inches tall, ceramic and hand wash only. MacKenzie-Childs is featuring a new Mocha Check Gingerbread collection for the holidays this year, and the bear goes well beside the Cookie Jar with Mocha Check Lid and the Mocha Bear Salt and Pepper Set. To get around its capacity, let the bear hold the cookies on display and keep the rest of the batch in the glass jar.
Snowman cookie jars
A snowman cookie jar is the other classic Christmas figural. Our Cozy Christmas Snowman Cookie Jar has sold out, as has the Courtly Santa Bear Cookie Jar. For a snowman in the kitchen this year, the Cupcake Snowman Glass Ornaments, Set of 4 are in stock (4 inches tall each, per Dekado’s listing) and can hang from a cabinet knob near the jar. Our guide to choosing MacKenzie-Childs glass ornaments covers the rest of the range.
Which check lid looks most like Christmas?
All five lids sit on the same 1-gallon glass jar. The difference is color and the knob.
- Courtly Check: black and white checks with a faux-cinnabar knob. The red knob already looks festive, so a red bow is all it needs. Our Courtly Check guide explains why the pattern mixes so easily.
- Emerald Check: green checks with a clear glass knob. It looks like holly in December and like garden green the rest of the year.
- Mocha Check: coffee-colored checks with a clear glass knob, the gingerbread-and-cocoa option.
- Royal Check: blue checks with a blue glass knob, and the least seasonal of the group. Pick it if the jar is mainly for the other eleven months.
- Sterling Check: grey checks with a clear glass knob, which takes red or green ribbon equally well.
How to dress a lid jar for December
A bow at the knob is the simplest change, and it comes off in January without a trace. Tie it at the knob rather than around the rim so the lid still seats properly, and match the width to the jar.
- On the 1-gallon jar, a 2-inch ribbon such as the Red Check 2″ Ribbon or Green Check 2″ Ribbon makes a bow in proportion. Dekado lists both as 10-yard rolls, so there is plenty left for gifts.
- On the sweets jar, the narrower Red Check 1″ Ribbon keeps the bow from swamping the lid.
- The Courtly Tartan 2.5″ Ribbon has a wired edge according to Dekado’s listing, which helps loops hold their shape.
- The Courtly Regal Red 4″ Ribbon sets Courtly Check against crimson trim. At 4 inches it suits wrapping a gifted jar more than a knob bow. This roll is 5 yards, not 10, and spot clean only.
Past the ribbon, one or two small pieces will do. The Courtly Santa Bear Salt and Pepper Set (about 3 inches tall per shaker) gives a Courtly jar a Santa bear companion now that our matching cookie jar has sold out. The Cozy Christmas Lidded Santa Mug, listed at 12 oz, sets up a cookies-and-cocoa corner. For serving, the Mocha Check Small Pedestal Platter and Emerald Check Small Pedestal Platter are each 12 inches across with an 8-inch flat surface inside the rim, a comfortable size for a plate of cookies; our serving platter size guide covers larger pieces.
Care and practical notes
- Lids are hand-wash. MacKenzie-Childs says to wash the enamel lids with mild soap and dry them immediately. Apart from the Courtly Check sweets jar, the jar pages say to hand-wash the whole piece.
- Chips end food use. MacKenzie-Childs states its enamelware exceeds federal food safety regulations and California’s Proposition 65, and that you should stop using a piece for food if the enamel chips, cracks or breaks.
- Each piece is handmade, so MacKenzie-Childs notes that pieces vary.
- Keep crisp and soft cookies apart. Stored together, crisp cookies pick up moisture from soft ones and lose their snap.
FAQ
Is the MacKenzie-Childs cookie jar airtight?
MacKenzie-Childs does not describe its cookie jars as airtight, and the review summary on its Royal Check cookie jar page notes that opinions on how well it seals vary. Treat it as a jar for cookies you will eat within a few days.
What is the difference between the cookie jar and the sweets jar?
Size: the cookie jar is 6 by 8 inches and holds 1 gallon; the sweets jar is 5 by 6.5 inches and holds half a gallon.
Can a figural Christmas cookie jar stay out all year?
It can, though a Santa looks seasonal in July. For one jar all year, buy the glass jar and let a figural join it in December.
Dekado is an authorized MacKenzie-Childs retailer based in Brentwood, Los Angeles. If you are still choosing between sizes or lids, get in touch.
