How to Plan a Holiday Cookie Swap Party

Christmas Cookies - Holiday Cookie Swap
During the holiday season, cookies are not a thing to be taken lightly. In fact, if you peek into just about any kitchen, you'll likely find families busy at work, mixing, rolling, and baking the bite-sized treats for any and all holiday occasions. The history of Christmas cookies in America traces further back than the history of the country itself, to Medieval times in Europe. Since then, America has taken liberties on the tradition of Christmas cookies and has heavily involved them in a plethora of traditions. For example, since the 1930s, children in the U.S. and Canada have been leaving out cookies for Santa Claus as an evening snack for his long journey ahead. Another popular cookie tradition in the United States is the cookie swap party. Cookie swap parties are a wonderfully delicious excuse for family and friends to get together, exchange cookies and cookie recipes, and celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Since cookies are consumed in approximately 92.5% of all households across the country, it's likely that a tin of delicious cookies in a range of cookie flavors will be welcome in any home. Here's how to plan your very own holiday cookie party:
  1. Set the Guest List When it comes to cookie swaps, the more the merrier! Invite between 10 and 20 friends who you think would be interested in making a sweet exchange. On each invite, ask each person to bring six dozen of their favorite cookies and to forward you their cookie recipe before the party.
  2. Pick a Day Cookie swaps should take place close enough to the holidays for them to be relevant, but far enough that people don't have to feel rushed and stressed preparing for the swap. Try to send invitations a few weeks prior to give guests ample time.
  3. Establish the Rules With your invitation, it's important to establish some rules. For example, cookies should be homemade, cookies should be made in certain quantities, and creativity is encouraged. After all, you don't want 10 chocolate chip cookie recipes!
  4. Serve Savory Treats To offset the sweet samplings that will inevitably ensure, provide hors-d'oeuvres and refreshments to make it a true party.
Enjoy your cookie swap! And if you decide that you don't want to go through the trouble of a cookie swap to get an array of gourmet cookies, you could always opt for gourmet cookie delivery instead to sweeten the holiday season.

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