Celebrating the holidays with a holiday cookie swap is the perfect way to celebrate the season with family, friends, and coworkers!  Not only are the holidays right around the corner, but invitations to all sort of social events are about to start rolling in. If you’re thinking of hosting a little get together this year, why not try a cookie swap? They’re simple, sweet and we have all the info you need right here. Follow these tips and you and your friends will get to enjoy a festive evening enjoying your favorite cookie recipes. It’s bound to become a yearly tradition.

How to Host the Best Holiday Cookie Swap

Send Cute Cookie Swap Invitations:

These days, formal invitations to parties are often considered more of a nice gesture than an absolute necessity. However, we think that a cookie exchange is a perfect time to bring this courtesy back. Cookie exchange invitations are perfect! Why? To provide instructions. In case our guests are unfamiliar with the process, write up a little info sheet asking each person to bring three-dozen of their favorite recipe. Suggest that they be individually packaged for easy grabbing and remind everyone to bring a container for later. Try these pretty cookie swap invitations on Etsy!

Image via: Enchanted Designs 4 u – Cookie Party invitations

Set A Festive Mood at your Cookie Swap:

This is a holiday party, after all! Before your guests arrive, do your best to set the holiday atmosphere. Get out your best decorations, light up the tree, if you have one, and put on some soft music in the background. We suggest layering the table where you’ll be displaying the cookies with cheery tablecloths and using gift-wrapped boxes to stagger the cookies at different heights. Your guests will be sure to feel the celebratory mood right away.

Offer Holiday Favorites to your Cookie Party:

As much as we’d love to, it’s probably not a good idea to subsist on cookies alone. That seems like a recipe for a stomachache. Go ahead and set up a separate table with non-baked seasonal favorites to round things out. The adults will go nuts over a fortified punch and the kids will love these yummy brownies recipe!

Prepare for Leftovers:

Other than getting caught up with friends and family, the best part of a cookie swap is getting the opportunity to sample tons of different cookie recipes with only minimal effort on your part. The next best part is getting a chance to bring leftovers home. Make sure your guest don’t leave empty-handed by preparing adorable doggie bags for them to take home. It could be something as simple as a paper bag with a small gift tag and some ribbon because this is one occasion where its what’s on the inside that counts.

 Cookie exchanges definitely rank as some of our favorite holiday entertaining events because they’re so simple. Pick one friend to provide the location and set the scene, a few others to bring small snacks, and ask all the invitees to bring some cookies. That’s it. While you could certainly bust out your favorite party games, we just like to let everyone mingle. Think of your cookie swap as a few restful hours away from all of the holiday stress. Trust us, our tips make will make it super simple and delightfully festive.

Have you ever been to a cookie exchange? What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

For more ways to celebrate this holiday season, visit our celebration category!

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Celebrating with holiday cocktails is always a great way to bring in holiday cheer. Do you get the feeling that this winter is going to be especially long and cold? Us too. While we love all things related to the holiday season, freezing temperatures are a different issue entirely and we’re constantly looking for ways to bring the warmth back into our toes. If we do say so ourselves, this citrus mulled wine recipe definitely exceeds expectations. With a mix of red wine, aromatic spices, and bright citrus notes, this winter cocktail is a flavor-packed way to help you thaw out.

Holiday Cocktails: Citrus Mulled Wine

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minute

Serves: 8 -12

Holiday Cocktails Ingredients:

2 bottles of red wine

½ cup brandy

½ cup honey

4 cinnamon sticks. The link is for a good-sized bag but I’ve found Frontier spices to be among the best for deep flavor in any recipe.

2 vanilla pods, halved

6 whole cloves

3 star anise

2 bay leaves

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Holiday Cocktails Directions:

1. Tie the spices and citrus together in a cheesecloth.
2. Heat a big saucepan over low heat and add the wine, brandy, honey, and citrus juices.
3. Drop the cheesecloth into the wine and stir everything to combine.
4. Let the mixture simmer for 20-25 minutes until heated through and fragrant. Remove the cheesecloth when finished.
5. Serve warm, with extra cinnamon sticks for garnish.

The only this better than a warm winter cocktail is a recipe that you can whip up in big batches. We recommend making this one in bulk. Since the spices’ flavors deepen over time, it’s well worth the investment of time to leave a huge pot simmering on the stove for a while. Then, when you’re done, you can store the leftovers in the fridge – in an airtight container of course – for up to two weeks. Those in the market for an easy holiday gift should save this recipe. After all, who wouldn’t want to receive a big bottle of this?

Do you have a favorite cold weather cocktail? Is there a winter recipe you’re dying to share?

For more holiday recipes take a look at these yummy brownies!

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