My mother had red plastic cookie cutters when we were (my two younger brothers and I) growing up. She gave me all of them when I got married, and I have kept them and used them, decorating the cookies the same as we used to when I was a little girl.
My favorites were the snowman, the reindeer, the Christmas tree, and the star. I still have all of them and they have traveled all over the country with living in Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania and soon will make the jaunt to be in New York.

One of my fond memories of the red cookie cutters was when I was in third grade at William Barret Travis Elementary in San Angelo, TX and my mother was the room mother. For the Christmas party, she made our traditional family heirloom Tea Cakes recipe and used the red cutters as well as a few other metal ones (which I have now as well). I helped her cut out the cookies and frost and decorate them. There never was a more proud little girl when my mother entered the door of my classroom with a large tray piled high with lovely, delectable cookies! My whole class let out a collective "Ahhh!" For a little girl who was shy and lonely, this was music to my ears. I was so proud of my mother and I wanted to go home with her after the party -- but we had to stay another hour. The cookie tray was mobbed. My mother and the teacher had to keep children from getting into fights over 'our cookies'. They were the most popular treat at the party and none were left to take home. For a few days after the party, I was treated kindly, almost as if I were a human--and all because of the little red cookie cutter cookies!

I remember with vivid clarity the red reindeer cutout cookie as we decorated him. First we gave him a coat of cocoa frosting (very dark) and let that dry. Next was a bright blue saddle with red harness down to his stomach. We did these with toothpicks. Then we took another toothpick and dripped white icing "stripes" down the middle inside of the red harness and stuck little silver dragees at intervals, to make "bells". For his antlers, we toothpicked white strands. For his eye, we gave him either a blue eye (my particular fancy) or a white one. And last but not least, if this reindeer was to be Rudolph, he got a toothpick dot of red frosting at the end of his nose.