Tracy O'Connell's
9th Annual
Cookie Exchange

Sewell, New Jersey

Hi Robin, Wow, did another year go by already? I just held my 9th Annual Cookie Swap on Friday, December 16th. This year 12 girls participated in the cookie swap and 8 girls participated in the ornament swap. Our ornament theme this year was "anything" (our original theme was reindeer ornaments but they were too hard to find). Each of the girls brought their cookies in creatively decorated boxes, bags or store-bought containers (which were decorated very cute!). They also brought an extra dozen cookies for the tasting tray...which are always almost gone by the end of the night! And of course everyone brought a delicious appetizer. Two of my friends, Michelle & Monica, thought it would be a great idea if we all wore holiday pajamas to the cookie swap --- and we all agreed! Not everyone wore pajamas that night, but those who didn't said they wished they had and definitely will next year! I think the pajama option will definitely be used going forward! We were all so comfortable in our jammies & slippers! Not to mention it was a lot easier to enjoy all the great foods without being squeezed into a pair of jeans! Our menu this year consisted of: Appetizers: - Homemade Stromboli (pepperoni & cheese and ham & cheese) - Zippy Cheese Dip - Cream Cheese & Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms - Artichoke & Spinach Dip - Taco Dip & Chip - Baked Brie - Spinach Squares - Mini Ham & Cheese Frittatas - Salmon Party Roll-Ups - Devilled Eggs Cookies: - Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies - made by Kelley - Applesauce Cookies - made by Lisa - Butter Cookies - made by Tracy - Peanut Butter Cookies - made by Barbara - Mocha Walnut Yummies - made by Cheryl - Chocolate Jingle Jems - made by Michelle - Chocolate Chip - made by Avis - Cut-out butter cookies (snowman and snowflakes) - made by Maryanne - Pizzelles - made by Dana - Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cookies - made by Melissa - Lime Meltaways - made by Deirdre - Anise Fork Cookies - made by Christa Drinks: - Christmas Punch (7-Up, Limeade, Lemons, Limes & Frozen Whole Strawberries) - Wine, Hot Chocolate & Soda Desserts: - Five-Minute Fudge Wreath - Cream Cheese & Fruit Ball w/Graham Crackers Games/Prizes: We played a new game this year called "Tracy's Trivia". I handed out a piece of paper with 5 questions on it and whoever guessed the right answer won a prize. One of the questions was "How many lights are on the ROOF of our house?" (the answer was 1,200!). Another question was "How many mini lighted trees line our driveway?" (the answer was 17). I gave away a 2006 Gooseberry Patch pocket calendar, a Gooseberry Patch Holiday Receipt Keeper, a mini Yankee Candle set, a snowman ornament and bags of our homemade "Christmas Crunch" (white chocolate with red & green peppermint crunch candy). At the end of the night, I gave out Christmas CDs that I made which included some of my favorite Christmas songs this year - songs by Harry Connick, Jr., Leeann Rimes & The Rat Pack. I also made color recipe booklets for everyone which included the appetizer and cookie recipes. My daughter made a special treat for all the girls, Christmas Crunch, which she handed out in adorable little snowman bags. More Press about my Cookie Swap! Once again, my cookie swap has attracted MORE PRESS! CN8 kept their promise from last year and came out in November to tape my "simulated" Cookie Swap. It was "simulated" because the REAL one was just held in December, although we still had to bake cookies, make appetizers and dress up as if it were the "real" cookie swap. The show aired on Sunday, December 18th at 8:00 p.m. on CN8's "It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle - Holiday Special". I was also contacted by a producer at CBS in November who asked if they could come out and film me and my daughter baking Christmas cookies for a "Holiday Traditions" special which was aired on UPN on December 18th at 7:00 p.m. The same show also aired on Christmas Day on CBS at 11:00 a.m. The show was hosted by Alycia Lane & Larry Mendte - two local celebrities. While it's really nice to be recognized for my annual cookie swap, nothing could be more fulfilling than being surrounded by family and friends before the holidays. My cookie swap is a great way to kick-off the holidays with great food and great friends - and lots of laughs! I look forward to it every year and I hope my friends will continue to participate for many years to come. So thanks again Robin for your wonderful website! We appreciate all of your hard work which makes your website so informative for all of us die-hard cookie fanatics! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and a happy, healthy New Year! To Cookies! Tracy O'Connell (Sewell, New Jersey) To see more pictures from my annual cookie swaps, please visit my website: www.picturetrail.com/joeandtracy http://www.robinsweb.com/graphics.html Copyright©2004 Robin L. Olson, Robin's Web, All Rights Reserved.