If You Give a Girl a Cookie…

‘Tis the season…to plan a cookie party!

When I was a kid, I used to go to a cookie party every year with my mom and grandma and I hated it. It was all the bitches my grandma worked with sitting around, baking rum balls, gossiping, and just acting like bitches. I was stuck entertaining myself, trying to avoid the other bratty children who had been dragged along. It was always the longest day of the Christmas season.

I love throwing parties, but I knew it wasn’t a year for a full-out Christmas party. People are so busy this time of year, it seemed like it would be hard to lock everyone down. So now that I like baking, rum, and balls (as well as gossiping and acting like a bitch), I decided I wanted to host a cookie party! It seemed like a good option: it’s a day event, so it fits into schedules better, and it can be as big or as small as you like!

I chose a date (Sunday, Dec. 6) and then decided rather than spending a day crafting invites, I’d go the e-vite route. I’m in love with Evite.com right now! It’s convenient, but classier than Facebook. They have a lot of cute options for invitations, and I loved all the cookie party ones. (The milk martini with a cookie garnish is so cute.) I’m really into gingerbread men this season though, so I went with that!

The e-vite saved time, and since the party date wasn’t too far off, I didn’t have to deal with delays at the good old USPS!

I’m keeping it very small; I think only five or six people will end up attending, but that’s fine with me! It’s just an excuse to catch up with girlfriends and do something in the holiday spirit that isn’t stressful.

There are no set rules for cookie parties, but I do love rules, so here are my thoughts on how to have a great cookie party!

• I think cookie parties should be for girls and gays only. Let the men have the day off and use it as time to get tipsy and gossip.
• In the invite, ask everyone to bring a batch of cookies for sharing. Make sure you remind them closer to the date about the cookies; many people skip cookie parties because they didn’t get a chance to bake.
• If you’re inviting a lot of people you may want to ask for a head’s up on what kind of cookies they are bringing to avoid duplication.
• Have an area set up to display the cookies so everyone can ooh and ahh over each other’s creations.
• You may want to plan to bake one or two batches of cookies as a group. This is your chance to shine and whip up your favorite recipe! (Kind of annoyed I already blew my load on the cottage cheese sugar cookies, because these would have been perfect for the cookie party.)
• You should provide some kind of cute bag for guests to take cookies home in; Ziploc has snowflake-printed bags right now that would work, but I think you should get more creative at Jo-Ann’s and make something festive and reusable.
• As the hostess, you should plan to serve lunch or a good appetizer buffet and lots of drinks. Mimosas are always nice for a day event, but if you’re feeling up to it, it’s definitely a good time to serve a holiday cocktail or punch. (Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing inspirational recipes in the next few weeks!)
• You can do as much or as little decorating as you want to, but get your Christmas tree up and make sure you have a great holiday playlist!

I haven’t set a menu yet, but I want to do something light and lunchy — I’m thinking soup and salad. If more people were coming, I’d probably do the baked pumpkin pasta, but since it’s going to be a small gathering, I can put more time and effort into my girls who are there! I’m thinking my garlic bread soup and a wintery salad with homemade vinaigrette, but I might skip the soup and do something with roasted chicken and salad. And provided it’s a hit on Thursday (how can’t it be?), I’m planning to do the cranberry walnut baked brie. Because there will be a lot of sweets, and everyone is going to be eating a lot of heavy food and party food in December, I think it’s best to stick with a light and lovely cafe menu! (Gotta save room for that gingerbread martini, after all!)

Tagged as: Christmas, cookies, holidays, hostessing, party, party food, treats