Last year I had an amazing idea. Carrying on the tradition of homemade & baked holiday treats, I decided to make cookie boxes for friends and family. I usually have a gift theme every year, gingerbread & lemon, homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate mix, caramel & butterscotch, but never had I gifted cookies. Let me tell you...it was the most time consuming experience out of all of my holiday treats...ever! There had to be an easier way...and there is, host a cookie swap!
The Invite
Invite guests three to four weeks in advance. Have each person bring along copies of their recipe as well as some supplies for gift-wrapping, such as ribbons, tags and boxes. A good number of people to invite would probably be around 6 to 8.
The Cookies
Ask each guest to make a dozen cookies for every person in attendance, plus an extra dozen for sampling. If the number seems too daunting, don't fret, ask them to bring a half dozen per person in attendance. Just make sure everyone will go home with an assortment of several dozen cookies to give as gifts.
The Swap
On the day of the party, brew some coffee and tea, and clear a few tables for a sampling station, swapping and packaging stations. Provide several platters and cake stands and have each guest put out a plate of cookies for tasting along with their provided recipes. Once it is time to trade, have each person walk around the table to pick up their share for packaging.
The Gift Wrap Station
Ask guests to bring wrapping materials. Set everything out on a large worktable and have guests make their cookie boxes. Supplies needed: tags or labels, ribbons, twine, cardboard boxes, tissue paper, baking papers, cellophane, scissors, paper plates.
Give it a try! It might lead to the beginnings of a sweet tradition. Happy Holidays!
Inside The Cookie Box Line Up
Brown Sugar Shortbread
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Lime Meltaways
Snickerdoodles
Great Grandma's Sugar Cookies
Spice Cookies
Of course I'm not going to leave you without a recipe...I'm going to link you to my very first (and probably most overlooked) posted recipe. Amazing Butterscotch Cookies.
4 comments:
My school where I taught (when I taught 4th and 5th grade) had a cookie exchange every December. We didn't do the gift boxing, which would have been fun. But we did all bring our recipes. As I recall we had to bring an obscene number of cookies (like 6 or 12 dozen). It took me FOREVER to make the cookies. But, I left with 6 or 12 dozen cookies! (There were a LOT of people at the exchange, too.) I think I was so burned out on it, I haven't wanted to do it again. But now, that's been about 20 years ago. Maybe I'm ready for another one! ha ha. Maybe I'll see if some people at work or somewhere would like to do it. If I can muster the time (big IF). But, I look forward to your cookie recipes. Yum! (If that's a picture of your box, it is gorgeous!)
P.S. I'm going to reblog your post and link back to you, okay?
Is that the box of cookies that you gave away? Because, wow, they are gorgeous!
That would be a lot of work. Hat's off to you!
@Aimee: yes, that is the box o' cookies! Thanks for stopping by.
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