Annual Boggsville Cookie Exchange 2010

I have been hosting a Christmas Cookie Exchange now for 7 years.  It is so fun!  Here is the invitation I just made with my new photoshop elements skills~ 

 

(don't worry friends~ that's not my real home or phone information :)

Have any of you ever done a christmas cookie exchange?   Ours is pretty simple.  Friends and family come to the party with 6 dozen of their favorite christmas cookies displayed on a pretty platter.  We put all the cookies out on the dining room table.  We taste and look and then vote on 3 categories~ Best Tasting Cookie, Most Beautiful Cookie, & Best All Around Cookie.  The votes are tallied and then prizes are given.  I have made aprons as prizes in the past, but I usually just shop a good sale at Macy's and get cooking supplies like new measuring cups, cookie racks, etc.  Finally, according to how many people come to the party, we divide up the cookies and you go home with a variety of 6 dozen BEAUTIFUL christmas cookies.  

I have some friends who are super into the cookie exchange.  My friend Michelle has won in one of the categories every year!  My friend Karen has helped me keep the party going year after year even when I was pregnant, tired, and didn't have a good spot to hostess.  The grandma's always come with their favorite cookie they have been making for years.  Mom's plan days to bake with their daughters and choose a recipe together.  It's become a really sweet tradition and even though I am the hostess, I don't have to do much more than decorate my house and put out some drinks and crackers.   I am not even that great of a cookie maker myself!

I would love for some of you blog friends to feel inspired to do a cookie party too!  I am happy to help you plan.  Here is a template for the invitation I made~

View this photo

(I am not overly thrilled with my invite though, so if any of you have a better one, we could post it here too.)

You can just drag that photo into a word doc or photoshop elements and create a text box with your own info in it.  Along with the pretty invite, I also send out a "rules" sheet to help people understand what to do more clearly.

Download Cookierules2010

I am doing my party on Dec. 11th so I went ahead and ordered my invites today through Vistaprint.  I had to order 100 which is silly but with all the discounts I only paid $12!  I guess I'll be using these invites next year too?   In past years I have just called around if I don't get to making invites.  I would say you need at least 6 people to get a good variety.  I have had as much as 24 guests but that was probably too many since it made dividing up the cookies really complicated.  

Here is a Martha Stewart Document that I downloaded years ago about hosting a cookie party that you may also find useful, although you would have to be Martha Stewart to follow this baby..

Download 1105_cookieswap

This is going to be fun!  Leave a comment or email me if you have questions.  I would also love to hear about your favorite cookie so I can get help on an idea of what to make this year.  Right now I am thinking buckeyes but it has been done before so I am open for suggestions!

Comments

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This is a larger debate that could easily be a blog in itself. I think,

[Chanel J12]

Usually success and failure is just one step away,Life is a combination of success and failure. Both are needed

[Michelle]

I can't decide what cookie for this year!!
(The green christmas trees (if you are talking about the ones I made) were just a sugar cookie recipe called "Grandma's milkys" or something like that with sweetened condensed milk. I used 3 sizes (the middle are the same size...4 cookies in all) of star cookie cutters and then stacked them up turning the stars in different directions to make the trees. I used icing like glue to get them to stick together. Then decorated with all sorts of different stuff. They were an award winning cookie! : )

Also, thinking of a nice descriptive name helps too!

Can't wait!

[sara b]

I have hosted a swap for about 10 years now. My group of friends have always added/changed the rules every year based on what happens at the party. This year, we have opened it up to candies and bar cookies.

I also do my invites via evite so everyone can add what type of cookie they are bringing in the comment section so we don't have any duplicates.

Oh, and I have about 20-25 people attend each year.

Feel free to email me if you would like a copy of my invite!

[Amy Dunn]

I love your invitation, it looks awesome!!! I am not hosting a cookie swap but I will be there in spirit for yours! :)

[Julie]

Is it possible to get the recipe for the green cookies in the picture? The ones that look like Christmas trees? Those look fantastic! Have you ever read Joy the Baker? http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/ She has some great cookie recipes. You may want to scroll through her stuff for a good recipe. I've made about ten recipes from her so far, and each one has turned out fantastic!
And also, not to sound paranoid.. but you may want to take your address off of your blog. You never know who might be lurking online!

[Jen]

We're talking about what cookies to bake this year. Fancy or chocolate or easy... We can't wait.