When you’re tapped to host Christmas dinner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. How will you ever make your home look like all of those beautiful places you see in magazines? We’re here to tell you that you won’t. And that you shouldn’t even try. According to our friends over at ChristmasMyths.info, those expectations are nothing more than a myth, and all you really need is a warm and welcoming spirit.
Do you want to have a nice variety of baked goods at your Christmas party without having to spend hours slaving in the kitchen, putting together dozens of different recipes? This year, try a cookie swap!
Robin Olson, owner of The Original Cookie Swap Site, came up with the idea in the 1989 when she and a friend decided to bake cookies together so they could share them. In their search for cookbooks, they found a book describing a cookie exchange and decided to give it a try, so they could sample dozens of different kinds of cookies without having to bake them all.
You can try it yourself by hosting a cookie swap party. If you want to make sure the cookies are fresh for your dinner party, you’ll probably want to host it within a week or two of the party date. Invite one friend for each dozen of cookies you’d like to have. If you want six dozen cookies, invite six friends. Need 10 dozen? Invite 10 friends. You get the idea.
Then all you have to do is make a huge batch of your favorite cookie to share with the group. If you invited 10 people, you need to make 10 dozen cookies. Once the cookies are baked and cooled, package them on paper plates a dozen at a time and cover with saran wrap. Each person who is invited will also bake 10 dozen of their chosen cookie. If you can, try to make sure each person plans to bring a different type of cookie to ensure the most variety.
On the day of the party, each person will arrive with 10 dozen plates of the cookie they made, and leave the exchange with 10 plates of different kinds of cookies, made by all of the party participants.
For rules you can include with your invitations and hints for making sure your swap goes smoothly, check out Robin’s Cookie Swap site.