Getting Girl Scout Cookies Is About To Get Easier

Despite what those silly Christmas carols you've had stuck in your head for the past three months may try to tell you, the "most wonderful time of the year" is actually whenever the Girl Scout Cookies arrive. And to make sure that day comes sooner than ever, the process has gone digital — There's a Girl Scouts app now. This is the part where you celebrate.

Now, to be clear, there is no app that lets you simply shop online for Girl Scout Cookies. The whole point of Girl Scouts selling cookies is to teach young girls entrepreneurship and business skills — not to mention the confidence needed to knock on a stranger's door. So you still have to buy cookies from an actual Girl Scout. But technology is now making it easier and faster than ever to load up on Tagalongs.

In addition to their Girl Scout Finder app, which lets users find locations close by where Girl Scout Cookies are being sold, the Girl Scouts themselves now have an app to help take your order. Which means no more filling out your information on tiny pieces of paper and no more waiting weeks for your Thin Mints to show up. With the new digital process, your cookies can arrive in a matter of days instead of weeks, there are no more slips of paper, and you can even pay with a credit card.

Plus, the new system also gives Girl Scouts the option to create and run their own personalized websites. The sites are available by invitation only, meaning girls have to build a "client list," but also means people can order their cookies online.

And did I mention the part where this means your cookies are shipped to your house in as little as three to five business days after your order?

While all of this is obviously awesome for customers, it's also really awesome when you think about the skills it's going to impart to the Girl Scouts themselves. In the modern world, entrepreneurship (along with everything else) requires a digital component. It's just the way the world works now. And while young girls today are doubtless already technologically savvy — they did grow up in the 21st century after all — this teaches them how to use technology in a practical, business-driven way in order to achieve their goals. It's exactly the sort of skill that you'd hope an organization like the Girl Scouts would impart.

The Girl Scouts has a long history of supporting girls — and has drawn the ire of enough right wing groups to prove it. Seriously, there are people who boycott Girl Scouts (more cookies for the rest of us?). I guess that's what happens when your organization refuses to denounce abortion, birth control, or pre-marital sex, and allows transgender girls to join. Not to mention that whole "helping girls develop confidence" thing.

So whether you're buying your Girl Scout cookies online or in person, you can feel good about your purchase; you're not only funding an organization that provides girls with leadership experiences and things like STEM resources, but also one that will help girls gain the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century.

In other words, go grab that Girl Scout Finder app and order some cookies.