If you are someone who loves cookies and any other type of baked goods, Christmas is the time of year where many are being made and enjoyed. If you have never heard of a Christmas cookie exchange, it may be something you would be interested in attending or even hosting for your friends and family. If you are a baker or love baked goods this will be right up your alley when it comes to a Christmas cookie exchange.
A Christmas cookie exchange is one great way to taste many different cookies you might not have ever known existed. You are able to swap recipes of different cookies and desserts you make with your friends and family who attend. The holiday season is one time of year where it seems alright to indulge in sweets without feeling bad about it. For a Christmas cookie exchange or swap you usually will have at least ten individuals which you can swap cookies with. So how exactly does the Christmas cookie exchange work?
First you want to send out invites to those who you feel would enjoy this type of Christmas exchange. You will of course need them to RSVP so you are aware of how many will be attending. Also include the instructions on how a Christmas cookie exchange works for those who might not have ever been to one before. This will give them a bit of insight before they arrive so they do not feel lost when the exchanging begins. But again, you will need to explain the exchange and how it works once all of your guests arrive.
When you host a Christmas cookie exchange you will ask every participant to bring at least a half a dozen to a dozen of different cookies. Usually a good three or four different kinds is great. You will swap a dozen or half a dozen of your cookies for someone else's which interest you and place them on your tray. You go around the room to all the different individuals' cookies until all of yours are dispersed. Many hosts will also ask you to bring an additional dozen of your cookies for them to be shared throughout the party as a snack. It is also another great way to figure out which cookies you are looking to swap with yours.
In the end make sure you ask each participant to bring a copy of their cookie recipes so you can hand them out to those who are extremely interested in a specific cookie which you made. This is one great way you can taste different traditional cookies that many have made in their family for centuries. You may taste something you would have never thought you would enjoy but came out loving them.
Christmas cookie exchanges are becoming more and more popular including at work locations. This is a great twist on a Christmas party to keep everyone going. It may also be a new tradition you bring every year to those friends and family members of yours which love to bake around the holidays.
"Granny, how does Mommy get presents when she's way under water?"
The child was always full of questions. How was Claire supposed to answer this one? And why did her daughter have to join the reserves anyway? She knew she wanted to give back, but please, she had a husband, a son, and now she'd miss Christmas with them all.
But even as she sighed, she still felt a sense of pride. Her only daughter, Mandy, had always been like that- always giving. She'd even done mission work during her college summers and then joined the Peace Corps for a few years before meeting her husband. So, it really shouldn't have been a surprise when Mandy joined the Navy reserves several years ago. One weekend every month, and once a year for four straight weeks, she relieved a Submarine's full time Doctor. Claire thought it nothing more than a giant tin can, but her daughter and grandson thought it was cool. Still, it scared the daylights out of her knowing how far away, and how far below her daughter was.
"Granny, are you listening to me? How can Santa climb down the chimney when the submarine is under water? I bet they don't even have fireplaces where mom is," the boy continues.
"Jake, honey, let's ask your daddy when he gets here. That sounds like a question for him" says Claire.
"Thanks Mom", says her son-in-law standing in the doorway. "Glad to know you think I'm so wise".
They chuckle together as he sits down for a home-made meal. Once a month dinners have become something of a tradition whenever Mandy is out of town.
This month-long stint would be hard though. Because this trip came during Christmas. He'd never spent it without her- not since they'd married 6 years ago. And he worried that he'd fail miserably while she was gone. His wife was always the one to make the holidays special. She baked cookies, decorated the house, bought all the gifts, wrapped them up, and even ordered a tree every year. But she wouldn't be here this time, and with Christmas fast approaching, he was unsure of himself. That's when his son asked again? "Dad, how will Santa get to mom?"
That's when he got the idea. The way to answer his son's question, and still let his wife know they were missing her over Christmas.
"Son- we need to send Santa a gift with our letter this year. That way we know Mom will still get all the presents she's due, even if she's a thousand leagues under the sea."
The next day, they wrapped up a pair of Scuba fins, a snorkel and one little underwater flashlight. John explained that the snorkel and fins were for Santa, while the light was for Rudolph (just in case his nose wasn't waterproof). Since the Reindeer were magic, and could fly anywhere, on land, above air, or under the sea, these few things were all Santa needed to help find the right sub his mom was on.
That seemed to satisfy his four year old and they wrapped up the gifts with a letter to Santa. Since Jake couldn't yet read or write, John wrote the note, but included some hand-drawn pictures from Jake.
On Christmas Eve, a package several miles under the sea was opened by a mother missing her family. You should have seen the joy in her face as she pulled out the gifts and read her husband's handwritten words.
"To my precious mermaid- We love you and miss you. These fins represent how I try to stay afloat while you are gone. The snorkel is to help you remember that I never take one breath without thinking of you. And the light- that is what you are to our Family! A love so bright and pure, that even in your absence, we shine, steadily burning awaiting your return. These pictures are from Jake. He wanted to make sure his mommy wasn't forgotten by Santa Clause. Merry Christmas! We will be here when you pull back into port!" love, your husband and son.