“Christmas, children, is not a date.  It is a state of mind.” ~ Mary Ellen Chase

Good Morning!  

One of my favorite holiday traditions is hosting a cookie exchange.  A cookie exchange is a small holiday gathering where each guest prepares a designated number of their favorite cookies prior to the gathering.  The day of the gathering, each guest receives a dozen of each attendee’s cookies and gives each attendee a dozen of their own.  Recipes are also attached, so that your family can add new holiday favorites to your repertoire.  Typically, at the gathering, guests sample cookies, share stories, and fun is had by all.

The cookie exchange is a great way to have some holiday time with the girls, stock up on many kinds of cookies without preparing each one on your own, and enjoy the stories and recipes of others.

Scaled down version:  You can do a scaled-down version of this.  Consider hosting a “Cookie Tasting,” where each person brings a dozen of their favorite cookies and copies of the recipe.  This is more of a “tea party” event, where all the goodies are shared at the actual event.  This “scaled-down version” also works great for an office party.

How many people should I invite?

Use this handy table to determine how many people you would like to invite and how many cookies to ask them to bring.  (Note: these calculations include enough cookies for each guest to have one of each cookie for tasting at the party.)

	Have each person prepare:
Invite six people	Three-and-a-half dozen cookies	Six-and-a-half dozen cookies
Each guest will leave with	Three dozen cookies	Six dozen cookies
Invite eight people	Four-and-a-half dozen cookies	Eight-and-a-half dozen cookies
Each guest will leave with	Four dozen cookies	Eight dozen cookies
Invite ten people	Five-and-a-half dozen cookies	Ten-and-a-half dozen cookies
Each guest will leave with	Five dozen cookies	Ten dozen cookies
Invite twelve people	Six-and-a-half dozen cookies	Twelve-and-a-half dozen cookies
Each guest will leave with	Six dozen cookies	Twelve dozen cookies

 

Your Turn:  Simplify your holiday baking while enjoying a get-together with friends by hosting your own cookie exchange.

Today’s Affirmation:  I celebrate the season.