Come One, Come All!
by Kate Wicker in Homemaking on Friday, December 03, 2010 6:00 AM
Just as the Samaritan woman reaches out to a thirsty stranger who reveals himself as Jesus (John 4:4-42), we, too, are called to share our Catholic homes with others by living a life of hospitality and to open our doors and our lives to others.
And what better time to extend a warm welcome to others than during the Advent season?
One holiday tradition I’ve embraced that lends itself to hospitality without the formality (or work!) of a long, sit-down holiday dinner, is to host a cookie swap play date
“What’s a cookie swap play date?” you might be asking.
Well, here’s the lowdown: First to address the “cookie swap” part. A cookie swap involves several people agreeing to make their favorite recipe and to exchange cookies (or other sweets) on a certain date. When the cookie swappers get together, guests leave home with several different varieties of cookies to either devour themselves, pass along to hungry spouses, give as gifts, serve at other holiday shindigs, or in a pinch, use as leverage to get their toddlers to stop screaming because they’re refusing to let him/her leave the house in the fairy wings/Superman cape.
As for the play date part, this involved me inviting moms and their kids to share in the cookie fun. For my get-together, I set up a table in my garage with paper plates and plastic, kids-safe knives. I also made heaps of sugar cookies ahead of time and then invited the kids to their cookies with an assortment edible embellishments, including sprinkles of all colors and incarnations, candies like Red Hots and M&Ms, frosting, and even some shredded coconut. To allow for easy cleanup, I used a disposable plastic tablecloth at the kids’ cookie decoration station.
The children had a blast decorating cookies and not too much frosting ended up in their hair. My informal get-together also gave moms a chance to socialize. Best of all, each guest went home with a diverse collection of treats to share and since I hosted the event early in the Advent season, the moms could rest easy, knowing they didn’t have to plan for holiday baking closer to Christmas if they didn’t want to.
Interested in hosting your own cookie swap play date? Here are six ingredients for a successful event:
Keep it simple.
Knowing moms often can feel frazzled during the Advent season, I didn’t ask guests to bring mountains of cookies and in fact, told them I’d rather them come cookie less than not at all. While most traditional cookie swaps require guests to bring at least six dozen cookies or so, I just told moms to bring a batch of their favorite recipe and to double it. I also asked guests to email me what they were planning on bringing ahead of time just to make sure we didn’t end up having five batches of chocolate chip cookies. To make my life easier, I used Evites for my invitations and communicated to everyone with follow-up emails.
Think outside the cookie jar.
Remind guests that the term “cookie swap” should not limit them in their choice of recipes. Although I encouraged moms to stick with tried-and-true recipes for simplicity’s sake (no need to stress out experimenting with some new fancy schmancy recipe), I reminded them that quick, easy breads, scones, brownies, truffles, etc. would make great additions to a holiday goody tray.
Serve a light lunch.
To offset all the sweets, serve a light lunch. I’m a big fan of soup because it’s so easy to create a large quantity of something that’s pleasing to the palate during the colder months. I threw together a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup and served it with whole-wheat rolls and a fruit salad.
Let kids get creative and messy.
I’m a big believer in allowing children free reign when it comes to their creativity. The problem is I’m also a bit of a control freak and not a big fan of huge messes. That’s why I set up the kids’ cookie station in the garage. In addition, I reminded moms their little bakers might get messy and suggested they bring an old t-shirt of Dad’s along to use as a smock.
Don’t forget the doggie bags.
Ask guests to bring extra zip-lock bags or cookie tins to transport their goodies home. Have some extra bags on hand.
Make a recipe list for guests.
I asked my guests to email me their recipes. I then created a Word document with all of the recipes listed in alphabetical order and then sent it to the attendees.
Happy baking! Happy swapping! Happy Advent!
—Senior writer Kate Wicker bakes and swaps from her home in Georgia. Read her blog at KateWicker.com. This article was originally published in this space last Advent.
Resources:
- Baking 911 Cookie Swap Guide
- Faith & Family LIVE’s First Annual Virtual Cookie Swap
- Family Fun Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Hospitality is Biblical – And It’s Not Optional
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