Cookie Swap Tradition

Our Cookie Swap Christmas Evening has become a tradition among my friends.  Dear Glenda has the task of putting it on, which is quite unfair, but she does have the most beautiful English looking house among us. She decorates her house for Christmas and has a pot of mulled wine on the stove.  It's the event of the year and not one to be missed for any reason. 

I think the most fun for me was making these little packages up.  I do like a bit of embellishing!  The girls enjoyed helping me too.

The day before most of us can be found in our kitchen preparing for the big swap.  Our houses are filled with the glorious smells of baking dough.  There are more often than not little helpers either making cookie cutter biscuits or licking the bowls.  It's a really exciting time for the whole family as they all know when they wake up there will be a visual feast for them.

Here are my chocolate macaroons just out of the oven.  Perhaps a little tanned but very chewy and rather delicious.  No.1 was home from school with a cold, so she was a big help to me.  The whole idea of getting my hands in and mixing was a huge turnoff!  Luckily she thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Here are some photos of the table when everyone had displayed their cookies.  All so nicely wrapped with ribbons and looking very festive.

It's the most exciting feeling when you go around the table selecting little packets put together with so much care and thought. 

Take a look at these very impressive tags that dear Glenda made for us.  They are wrapping papers cut to size and mounted on board.  Decoupage apparently.  Very nice and special.  A little momento of our lovely evening together.

 Oh lookie, there are my biscuits!!

And here is my filled basket that I took home at the end of the evening.  Can you imagine how much fun our girls had selecting their favourite cookie in the morning? 

And just look, two of them chose the same one!  Yes Liz, (devoted reader of my blog) they are yours!!!!  You are now a famous cookie maker!

 

And when the girls got home from school they were raving about them.  They have a big piece of peppermint chocolate bar in the middle of them - YUM!! 

If you haven't been to a cookie swap before, I'd say organise one, they are so much fun and completely worth all the baking the day before.  I've taken cookies to my mother, served them to more family members this morning and the girls are provided with a lovely selection for a whole week. 



Thanks so very much for all your hard work Glenda.  You did a brilliant job as usual and we all had a fabulous time.  My pretty tag is hanging on our Christmas tree.  I'm looking forward to next year's swap already.