Cookie Exchange Invitation Idea

[Jeanne130aolcom]

I am already stressing over this year's invitation & it is August! I just finished mine for 2006 & thought I would share it for anyone that is interested. It is an invitation on a recipe card. I found recipe cards in ALENKA'S PRINTABLES site, and put in holiday recipe cards. I need 2 cards for the invitation (I will attach the 2 cards in the corners. Make sure your recipe card has an envelope that will fit correctly!

RECIPE FOR (YOUR NAME) ANNUAL COOKIE EXCHANGE
Ingredients: 8 dozen home-made cookies
40 good friends (the # of girls you invite)
2 cups of holiday spirit
4 quarts of laughter
1 extra large happy heart
Instructions: Combine cookies with good friends & mix well.
Stir in holiday spirit, add laughter & mix until well
blended. Top generously with a happy heart.
Combine: Friday, December 8th at 5:30 P.M. with
123 Smith Street, (your address)
Add: Home-made cookies, Hors d'oeuvres, Hot apple
cider, Martinis & Wine, Chocolate dipping fountain,
Christmas Carols and Gift swaping to this casual
affair as you enjoy the friendship & warmth of
others.
Yield: An assortment of cookies & lots of holiday cheer!

2nd card:
"CHRISTMAS COOKIES & HAPPY HEARTS, THIS IS
HOW THE HOLIDAY STARTS!"
A Cookie Exchange is no ordinary party. For this special occasion, you have to participate in an assortment of things!
* Bring 8 dozen home-made cookies: flour must be one of the ingredients. Bakery, "no-bake" & Pillsbury types do not count as home-made. You know that & so do I!!
* Arrange your cookies in a decorative basket/platter etc. for table display. Contest for "Best Cookie Display".
* Everyone will be personally exchanging their cookies and taking home approximately 2 of each variety. (your choice)
* Let me know your cookie selection ASAP so there will be a wide variety of cookies & no duplicates.
* A $15 wrapped gift is requested for our gift swap game!
* Recipes to me by November 6th for our annual cookbook.
* Please dress in the holiday spirit & come have some fun!
* RSVP: (your phone number) or Email: (your email address)

Add whatever else you do during your swap; this is my 4th one; I also have Santa come and give out gifts to the girls. There are 40+ women, and it is still growing! It is such fun.
With so many women, see why I start in August?? lol

You can email me if you want, but put "cookie exchange" on the subject so I don't delete your message. Happy Planning! ;D
[e-mail] ::)

[binny]

great ideas thanks!

[NicksMommy]

Wow--mine isn't that big yet-but seeing as how this year will be my 3rd exchange-I know what you mean about starting early. It is alot of work but so well worth it!! Thanks for the great ideas--I might just use your invite if you don't mind. It's very creative!! NicksMommy(Cindy)

[Jeanne130]

Glad you liked the invitation. Change it however you like! I start early so I can enjoy the party and the holidays. I love the cookie party and just keep adding ideas each year. The girls at work are talking about it already. I love how excited they all get. It is a lot of fun.

[Cerra71]

This is will be my third year and I too have started my preparations. Last year, I hand delivered my invitations attached to Christmas gift bag in the theme I had planned. This worked well, the guests were able to easily carry their prepacked cookies to and from the party. I have a problem with them submitting recipes, each year I had planned on constructing a recipe book with the appetizer and cookie recipes served at the party, but no one ever submits recipes. I think this year I will try making the invitation a recipe card and making working it into a game.

[Jeanne130]

I make a Cookie Cookbook for each girl. I put: Please submit your recipe by November 5th right on the invitation. The book is ab out 50 pages when it is completed. Everyone wants to be part of it, and no one wants to be left out.
I put a letter to the girls in the from from me, and a Bakers Index right up front, naming the cookie and the baker. I also put in a page of hints on how to make good cookies which I get from the internet. Then all the girls cookie recipes are printed, and I include all the recipes from what I am serving at the party.
It takes awhile to compile so I ask for them before I start preparting for Thanksgiving. I send my invitations out early, since everyone starts making plans early. I also have my party the same every year, so the girls know to hold the date. It is always the first Fri of December.

[Debbie]

Hi,
I just found this web site and am so excited about it. I moved into a condo/HOA a year ago and all the residents are 55 or older. I want to have a small cookie exchange with my closest friends and neighbors this year now that we are all settled in and know our neighbors. This site has so many good ideas that everyone has shared. My question is I want to get started planning and was wondering how far in advance to send my invites, was thinking of maybe doing the swap the first weeknd in Dec.?

[Jeanne130]

I do a cookbook for the girls, so I asked them to submit their receipes to me by Nov 7th. The book takes awhile to complete because I have 40 people coming to the exchange. Anyway, I send the invites out one month before the RSVP, so this year I am mailing them out on October 7th. This will be my 4th exchange. If you mail them too late, people make their holiday plans early and you might find they are not able to come. Hope this helps.

[KarenTX]

Jeanne:

How do you do your cookbooks? I want to do that this year but I want to include the previous four years of cookie recipes. Any help would be appreciated.

TIA

[Jeanne130]

I ask the girls for their recipes, type each one up and add some graphics to each page. I add in the recipes for the food served at the party. The first page is an index of the girl and the name of the cookie baked; I add a letter to the girls from me which goes first. I also add some hints on how to bake good cookies which I find on the internet. the cover has ____________'s Fifth Annual Cookie Exchange; Cookie Recipes and I put graphics all over.
You can attach the papers with a hole puncher and add a red ribbon. I put a clear cover on the first and last page so it doesn't get messed up. The girls look forward to them each year. It takes time, so give yourself enough time to get it done.

[CHRISTI]

The first year of my exchange, I designed and printed a the cookbook off my computer, adding bake-themed art to each page. I had a cover page, a letter from me and then a page for each recipe naming the lady who brought it (total pages was about 20). I had the front page done in color, but the rest was in black and white since it was too expensive to do it all in color. I then took it to Office Depot and they printed 14 copies and bound them for me. The cost was about $60. I then added a group picture to the inside cover. It was a little costly, but nice.

[Karen in Tx]

Christi - Can you tell me how you did your cookbook on the computer. I've been doing a Christmas Cookie Exchange for six years and want to compile all the recipes into a cookbook or something for all the participants. Thanks.