just a little sugar high

 

last night I hosted my 4th annual cookie swap for my close friends in the neighborhood. it was such a lovely evening and one that everyone looks forward to all year long! they start asking me about it in october!

in my opinion, a cookie swap is the ideal holiday party to host. aside from your baking, there is minimal food prep and you can quickly pull it together in an afternoon with some quick cleaning, your house is already decorated, mix a punch, and put some drinks/wine on ice and voila! there are no expectations for a big meal or spread and everyone samples the cookies! entertaining does not come naturally or easy to me…so this is perfect!

after trying a couple different scenarios, we all decided we like to have the exchange as close to christmas as possible. this way the cookies are nice and fresh for everyone’s family entertaining. and one of the gals put together a little basket for the bus driver today! I thought that was a great idea!

thanks to some ideas from pinterest, I added some extras (cookie tags and voting / prizes) this year which added some spice to the evening. I always do my fun favors and just love searching for the perfect little “cooking” favor. my friend whitney and I are going to crate & barrel the day after christmas for their big sale, so I’m sure I’ll find some great stuff to store away for next year.

I invited a smaller crowd this year and it was much better….10 bakers making 6 dozen cookies for sharing. everyone took 1/2 dozen of each kind, including their own, and we had extras to divvy up at the end. the platters going home were overflowing with goodness.

my favors ~ red spatulas:

love using my grandmother’s depression glass plates when I entertain:

fun little prizes:

my 2011 cookie – red velvet cheesecake cookie (thank you pinterest – but I gave it a C…..so time-consuming and not that tasty! next year I’m making bars!)

the table (not sure why lindsay’s hand looks plastic here)

whitney, my incredibly crafty friend, won for most creative cookie…for her adorable packaging ~ the cookies are delicious too (she is also an amazing cook/baker/mixer of amazing/fun cocktails!….we love going to her house!)

the bakers extraordinaire ~ and my good friends….love these girls