Happy Holidays Robin

Well with your help and others on your message board I had another successful cookie exchange. My 3rd Annual Cookie Exchange was on Saturday, December 6th from 12 to 4 pm.

I start working on my cookie exchange in July. Yes, July, I am usually on vacation at a summer house we rent down the shore in Jersey and while I am laying out taking in all the sun on the beach I am thinking about my theme and events for the cookie exchange. Crazy I know. This was my 2nd year to send out “Save the Date” magnets and I sent them in October. Then the invitation is sent out the 1st week of November and my E-vite is sent out around the same time. My group still loves the E-vite so that they can read everyone’s responses. There were 14 of us in attendance this year. Some ladies decided not to come. It could be due to the economy and I had a couple of sick folks. My theme this year was an international cookie exchange and it was a hit!

I had 2 games this year. The first was the do not say cookie game. I bought jiggle bell bracelets and the lady with the most bracelets at the end of the event won a prize. The 2nd game was the left/right game and I used Tracy Weaver’s winning story for the game. I always buy everyone an ornament for this game so I know at least everyone is going home with something. In one of the boxes I include a Star Bucks gift card to make it extra special.

This years ornament for this game was a pickle ornament due to the international theme. In Old World Germany, the last decoration placed on the Christmas tree was a pickle carefully hidden in the branches. Legend says the one who found the pickle on December 25 would be blessed with a year of good fortune (and a special gift!). Everyone thought this was so great and creative (see what happens when you lay out all day in the sun in July…lol). I think next year I would like to try the what is in your purse game. That looks like a lot of fun.

Everyone leaves with goodie bags. The goodie bags this year consisted of Bath and Body Works kitchen soap, a small cookie recipe book, gingerbread man pencil, and holiday recipe cards. I also put in some chocolate in each bag. I also give out a recipe book of all the cookies that were made. Thanks to Kelly on your message board I “borrowed” her idea of having Merry Christmas in different languages from around the World on my cover. Thanks Kelly.

My door prizes were brought back this year. This helps to make sure everyone arrives at my home festive as well as their cookies. I give out tickets for door prizes but there are rules to follow. The more you follow my rules the more tickets you get. The more tickets you get, the greater the chance of winning one of the door prizes.

This year's rules were tickets if you arrive on time, tickets if you had on holiday socks, tickets if you dressed from your cookies country, tickets if their prepackaged cookies are displayed in a holiday theme, tickets if their cookies are displayed with a Christmas around the world theme, and tickets if they brought the hostess a gift. Door prizes this year consisted of candles, cheese plates, candy, holiday mugs, Bath and Body Works items, a small fondue set, and fragrance oil diffusers. I also gave out 3 prizes for Best Dressed, Most festive cookie packaging, and for the Humbug that does not dress festive.

Best dressed this year was Sue Basso with her huge and puffy holiday scarf. She received a cheese platter that was the shape of a Christmas gift box; most festive cookie packaging went to Donna Pierro. She took her cookies and shaped them into a tiered cake. (Picture included), she received a snowman platter from Peggy Karr. Our humbug this year was my soon to be sister in-law Christine Connelly, she got candy coal and holiday oven mitts and kitchen towels.

The food spread this year was great. It was an international feast. There was a Mediterranean spread which consisted of hummus dip, baba ghanoush, taboule salad and nana bread. I had an antipasto, grilled chicken Caesar salad, mini cheese burgers, mini grilled cheese, mini Rueben’s, spanikopita with spinach and cheese, mini quiches, Paella a la Valecianna with shellfish, chicken, and Spanish sausage, shrimp cocktail, assorted Italian dips, crostini, and vegetable root chips. Dessert consisted of a gingerbread trifle, cookie and bars platter and a fruit salad.

Cocktails this year were my famous cranberry punch with champagne and white Russians. I also had soda, water, and wine.

Everyone was asked to bake 7 1/2 dozen cookies and pre package them in sets of 6. We sat in a circle and each person passed out their cookies. I had large holiday bags for everyone to put their cookie packages in.

Cookies this year where Chinese Fortune cookies, Danish Shortbread, Dutch Specula’s, small loaves of Pennsylvania Dutch poor mans cake, Irish walnut/pecan cookies, Irish whiskey cookies, Austrian Linzer look sees, Polish love knots, French Madeline’s, German/Jewish Rugelach, Scandinavian Spoon cookies, Scottish shortbread, German Zidish cookies, and finally Mexican wedding cookies (check out the display of the Mexican cookies in my picture of the cookies, Pam Lisa made these cookies and she put them in a clear cup and glued a small sombrero hat on the cup and then put wiggle eyes and a mustache for the face of the cup. It was so funny and a creative idea!)

Attached are some pictures. Here is the group picture, a picture of the door prizes, pictures of the food spread (note the international flags stuck in all the food), picture of all the packaged cookies and a picture of my niece and I. My niece Donatella always attends and is my “helper” for the day. She gives out the prizes and just helps me with anything I need. She is dressed in a holiday theme every year and this year my sister Danielle dressed her as Santa’s lil’ helper since she did help out “Miss Claus”.

Thanks again Robin for this website. It is so helpful and to all the lovely ladies on the message board that made my cookie exchange a success with your wonderful ideas that you share year after year. My friends that attend do not call it a cookie exchange but an “event’ due to all my hard work and dedication I put in to it. They say I go above and beyond year after year. They are always asking “what will she do next year”

Have a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year and I hope your cookie exchange is a blast!
- Allyson