Some of my favorite things about the holidays are; amazing parties, opportunities to show our affection and appreciation to friends, beautiful decorations and displays, delicious food and wine and the variety of so many traditions we embrace during this festive time of year. One of our traditions is baking and sharing holiday cookies and sweet treats.
Today, I am looking back at our innovative and fun cookie exchange we did last year and I am looking forward to kicking off my holiday baking with National Cookie Day on December 4th. To help you get things started in your home, click on the button below for a collection of fantastic cookie recipes.
Cookie Exchange: A Holiday Tradition
As with most everything in 2020, the Pandemic impacted the way that we interacted, (or didn’t), with our peeps. With that reality in mind, two ideas that seemed to be particularly unlikely companions were the Pandemic and a holiday cookie exchange. Not to be denied, Eleanor Andersen and I put our heads together again and came up with a safe, successful and scrumptious plan. The most important part of this endeavor was the health and safety of our friends, so it all started with a strict protocol for the day–wearing masks and social distancing.
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The Safe, Successful and Scrumptious Plan
As each guest responded to Eleanor’s well-written invitation with their cookie recipe, I got to work creating a cookie cookbook for everyone, using all of their recipes. Once finished, these little ornament shaped books were then placed in individual ziplock bags to be included with the rest of the goodies.
Next, we needed something for a photo opportunity so I came up with a large wreath which I decorated with ribbons and paper seasonal ornamentation.
Show Time
Eleanor’s husband, Matt, staged the scene. He carried down all of the things we needed for the exchange; a table, a basket full of sanitizing wipes, disposable gloves and boxes filled with large, sturdy holiday bags — ready and waiting for all of the incoming treats.
Once the guests began to arrive, they stayed in their cars while Matt, Eleanor and I collected everyone’s bags of treats. We quickly distributed all of the goodies into the bags and then promptly delivered them to each waiting guest. Pictures were taken and they were on their way to enjoy the day’s spoils.
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