For years I sought out the best gingerbread recipe and finally settled on an conglomerate of recipes gathered from a variety of places. Here's the recipe I fixed on:

Excellent Gingerbread

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 cup salted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark molasses (not black strap! Grafschafter syrup is also good and makes a lighter cookie)
1/4 cup warm water

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground  nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
healthy pinch of salt
3 1/4 cups sifted flour

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy then mix in the molasses and water. Sift the dry ingredients then add them to the wet until fully combined. Flour your hands and pull the dough together into a flattened ball and chill for at least 12 hours.  

Before you roll the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Flour up a board and pin and cut your dough in two. Roll out the dough to around 1/4 inch thickness. Be sure to keep the board and pin floured to stop the dough from sticking. Cut out your shapes and reroll any excess dough, though try not to overwork it as this results in tough cookies.

Place the rolled cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for eight to ten minutes, depending on how large or thick your cookies are. The less baked, the chewier the cookie. Allow the cookies to cool before decorating.

Make basic cookie icing in a variety of colors, gather the holiday sprinkles, and bring in the kids (if you have them)  for some decorating fun.