Cookie Jars for Using and Collecting

Did you know cookie jars are a relatively new invention for the kitchen. They’re only hundred years old or less with the first cookies jars produce back in the 1920s. Back in our great-great-great-great grandmothers time, cooks and treats were kept in stoneware crocks to preserve their freshness. That’s the way it was for centuries. Somewhere in the late 1800, British housewives keep their cookies and biscuits in glass jars with metal lids.

Some of the first true cookie jars were made from pottery. At first they were simple shapes and features hand painted designs of flowers or fruit. In the 1930, Brush Potter Company in Ohio produced a ceramic cookies jar with the word “cookies” embossed on the front. It was only a matter of time for other pottery companies to follow with fun and whimsical design.

Many people enjoy collecting vintage cookies jars, especially from the 1940s to the 1970s, the period that is considered the golden age of cookie jars. Some of the most sought after cookies jars were produced by the McCoy Pottery company.

Cookie jars were made for cookies, of course, but a practical housewife could find many uses for an empty jar.

• Other types of dry food like rice or beans
• Candy
• Dog and cat treats
• Money

Now days, collectors can fill shelves with cookies jars. The cost of an antique jar can be pricey; so many collectors are looking newly manufactured designs.

With so many designs available, some people like to collect one type. It might just be a favorite design or bought to match your décor. Here are some cookies jar ideas if you don’t already have a favorite:

Christmas Cookie Jars: Christmas and cookies just seem to go together, but you don’t need the holiday to collect these festive cookie jars. Many people collect Christmas Cookie Jars and display them year round. There are so many Christmas designs to share the season -- from Santas to reindeers to ornaments or even a gingerbread house.

Advertising has been a mainstay of cookie jars for years. One of the most popular is Coke Cola jars. You can find them in all types of designs - from a six-pack of Coke to the famous polar bears to a variety of soda dispensers and advertising slogans. Cookie jars are just another way to add to a Coke Cola collection.

Animals are a favorite subject for cookie jars and they usually end up being very whimiscal interpretations. Just think of an animal and it's probably found it's way onto a cookie jar. Some favorites are cows and roosters that also are popular themes for kitchen decor. Other favorites include bears, pigs, rabbits, ducks and dogs and cats.

Famous celebrities like Elvis or James Dean have made it to cookie jar popularity. Even animated characters like Betty Boop adorn jars. Whenever a person or thing hits pop culture status, a cookie jar usually follows.

Christmas might be the most popular holiday for cookie jars, but if you're into Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day or even St. Patrick's Day, there's a cookie jar for you. And of course, they're fun and whimsical and and are another piece to add to your holiday decor.

There really is a cookie jar for every decor idea and taste. Just look at all these fabulous finds from Amazon: