The Christmas season is upon us once again and with it comes all the delights of the season. And that means cookie exchanges. Tts the second annual Christmas Cookie Exchange – Yes Please! 2020 and I wanted to share all the delights. In 2019, I posted Christmas Cookie Exchange – Yes Please! This was followed by Cookies on Plates – Plates for the Cookies which posted all the recipes from the cookie exchange and highlighted some beautiful Christmas plates. I will be sharing the same approach this year – the cookie exchange Part 1 highlighting the organization and the exchange. This will be followed by Part 2 where I will post for all the recipes.
Last year was amazing and this year didn’t disappoint….in fact I think that it exceeded last year’s deliciousness and delights. So in the spirit of sharing the How-To’s, let’s revisit some of the important elements of throwing a successful cookie exchange.
Steps for a successful Cookie Exchange
- Determine what you want to do. Answer these questions:
- The usual questions of who, what, where, when….
- Who – how many guests and who
- What – how many cookie types, how many dozens, how to be packaged, how to be presented. Also if you are going to be voting and will it be anonymous? Will you have prizes?
- Where – location of the cookie exchange. Consider size and number of guests along with what you want to achieve – just exchange of cookies or a holiday experience, with conversation. Are you providing lunch or just beverages.
- When – dates and time. Date – closeness to the holiday, considering schedule and availability. Consider the time of day – will impact whether to serve lunch or not. Also the length of time – enough time to enjoy but not to overstay. This will depend on your group of guests.
- Develop contact list and dates for contact.
- Initial contact to identify interest
- Followup confirmation via email with “More to come” information, thanking the attendees for participating
- Email details about exchange – how many cookies needed, how to package. Ask for recipe document so it can be shared.
- Email reminder of exchange, location, etc. Include a map.
- Day of send out text reminder with map to location
- Setup for Exchange
- Table setup for exchange packages
- Table setup for voting, with name of cookie.
- Table setup for guest to sit
- Provide beverage station.
- When Guests Arrive
- Greet guests and go through instructions for the day
- Facilitate voting and award, as well as any other activities that you have planned
Some extras that made this Christmas Cookie Exchange special
- These ladies stayed in contact to keep us all on schedule. A couple emails reminders and then a sweet gift of a hand crafted card reminding us of the event.
- A light lunch as provided along with beverages, including water.
- The house was beautifully decorated for the season.
- The hostesses had a gift bag of goodies for everyone that attended. Homemade treats inside that were amazing! Churro Chex Mix and Cinnamon Almonds.
- Fun activities at the table….Christmas Trivia cards.
- Time sensitive….it was very clear what the timeframe was so it wasn’t your whole day. In this busy season, that was a great thing for the planners to think about.
Table set for light lunch 
Christmas Trivia
Amazing Cookie Displays
Gift box
Cookies packaged and ready for sharing
Each of us made five dozen cookies and then divided them into 6 cookie packages. You were also to plate 6 of your cookies on a plate to share for “hidden” voting. Each given a number, we all dutifully placed out cookies at our number. Two of the displays were amazing and their cookie boxes were coordinated for their gifting. But each person had a great cookie presentation. What a treat.
A treat for the tasting…..
A special treat for us was prepared by the lead hostess…..a hot cocoa bomb. If you haven’t heard of these delightful wonders of decadence, well be prepared. They are a hollow chocolate sphere that when bathed in hot milk, gently explode revealing hidden treasures….marshmallows, cocoa, and other treats.
Four kinds were available for us to enjoy….white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and chocolate with salted caramel. Oh my goodness is all we could say.
And if you were too full of cookies to enjoy the bomb, you could take your’s home to enjoy in your pajamas and by the fire (which is what I exactly did!).
Another year and a Cookie Exchange – Yes Please 2020! This was a great time with fun conversation and delicious treats from talented women! And blessed to be surrounded and uplifted for the season. And the hot cocoa bomb was definitely……the bomb!
And now a preview of the amazing recipes that will be coming soon……yum!
