Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Party Time.
How to Host A Holiday Cookie Swap
I don’t know about y’all, but I absolutely LOVE watching the cooking competitions during the holiday season on the Food Network. I especially love the Holiday Baking Championship and the Christmas Cookie Challenge because I am always so impressed with the level of skill and creativity involved. While I am not necessarily as talented as the Food Network stars, it did get me thinking about hosting a cookie swap party in Baton Rouge myself. Have you ever been to one? Where everyone brings different cookies, either store bought or homemade, and you get to try them all?! Enjoying the sweets while sharing the labor across a group of friends; that sounds right up my alley – sign me up!
While a holiday cookie swap works for any group of friends, or even a group of children, a cookie exchange is the perfect gathering to host for your neighbors. Sidenote: My neighbors are awesome. They always help me out if I’m in a bind, whether it’s borrowing a washer and dryer when ours is broken or watching my kids while I run a quick errand. Unfortunately, though, we never seem to find the time to hang out just for fun. While they are RIGHT there, somehow it seems impossible to get together and socialize, unless we are intentional about making it happen. It got me thinking that a cookie exchange would be intimate and cozy, and we could even do host it on a weeknight since weekends during the holidays tend to be a bit crazy. Weeknights feel more accessible with children when you eliminate travel time and aren’t going far for an event! Basically the idea is that everyone brings a dozen or so homemade cookies to the cookie swap. The hostess displays all the cookies, everyone gets to sample them, and everyone gets to take some home with them to enjoy later. If you want to go crazy, you can even give out awards for prettiest cookies, tastiest cookies, best Christmas attire, etc!
Step One :: Set the Budget For the Cookie Party
A good first step when planning any sort of party is to set a budget, lest you get completely out of control. Christmas is a time of the year when all that spending can really add up with the $10 holiday treat here, the $5 gift exchange there. If you want to go over the top, you absolutely can, but I always like to know what I am willing to spend on a party before I jump into the details. To save money, sending an invitation via text or email works just fine. Next up, my favorite: decorations and supplies.
Step Two :: Visit Party Time and Grab the Necessities for the Cookie Party
What’s a party without decorations, special touches and fun extras? I was able to sneak away to Party Time on Bluebonnet kid-free one morning. While I have always been impressed with their selection, until I was specifically looking for items to host a holiday gathering, I had no idea that they had so much Christmas stuff! {And spoiler alert :: they were still putting out more Christmas decor}. If you’re in need of anything to host a Christmas party in Baton Rouge, you should check them out.
I tried my best to focus on what I actually needed to get for the cookie party because like most moms I can become easily distracted with all the fun things. One of the first things in my cart were these adorable chocolate stirring spoons because obviously one 
must serve hot chocolate and/or coffee at a holiday cookie exchange. I also grabbed some super cute plates and matching napkins. There were several different designs to choose from, each one of which was cuter than the next.
I then landed in the aisle of Christmas cookie pans! It was hard to choose, but I remembered that although I enjoy watching others make amazing cookies, my ability to do the same was a bit lacking. I decided to go with a pan that makes 24 tiny sugar cookies, and it even has a recipe on the back. I tossed a bag of red and green candy decorations in my cart to throw on my cookies because, festive cookies are the best cookies. Also, if cookie cutters are more your style, there’s a whole wall of them at Party Time.
I also selected some treat bags for guests to take their cookies home, a really cute sign 
that says “North Pole Bakery,” and some Christmas placemats that kids (or adults!) can color. I managed to get all of this in about thirty minutes and spent less than $70. An added bonus; Party Time is right next to Costco, so I was able to run in and grab some essentials like toilet paper and get back home to the kids. Overall, this was a very successful mom morning and a lot of fun.
Step three :: Host the Cookie Exchange and Enjoy
It has admittedly been challenging to get back into the swing of entertaining and socializing after COVID, but hosting a holiday cookie swap has me energized, excited and hopeful! I encourage my friends in Baton Rouge to think about doing the same with their neighbors. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of people coming into your home, take advantage of the gorgeous weather in Louisiana and host in the driveway. If you are intimidated by the idea of entertaining at all, enjoy an afternoon baking with your kids and leave “holiday happies” on all of your neighbors’ doorsteps as a sweet surprise. Whether you invite guests, host your neighbors or just enjoy your kids, Party Time made it really easy for my family to get in the holiday spirit. We are cooking up all kinds of holiday baking plans now, especially knowing that we have access to easy one-stop holiday baking and hosting shopping!
