My daughter has held a cookie party to celebrate Christmas for the last 16 years.
It started when she was in fourth grade. She invited four or five friends to join her the last day of school before Christmas break.
I picked them up, we went to the movies and then came home to bake Christmas cookies and spend the night.
The party has morphed over the years–sometimes a movie, sometimes a sleepover, but it’s always a cookie party.
Since high school the party has included guys and in the last few years since college graduation, some of the guest have brought wine.
Decorating cookies remains front and center, but now when they finish, they sit around the fire and sing Christmas carols–in four-part harmony
What type of cookie?
We use family favorites:
It’s quite an operation!
We make the dough ahead of time.
Once the majority of the guests who have RSVP’d arrive, we serve dinner: usually something salty with a big salad.
Once dinner is done, the heavy duty baking and decorating begin.
I did a lot of this work until they were old enough to handle it all themselves.
Decorating
It’s wonderful they’re adults now!
While we provide a number of different doughs and cookies, the most fun comes from the decorating.
It’s been fun watching small girls, tweens, high schoolers, college kids and now young adults decorate sugar cookies.
The designs are much more accomplished these days!
They talk and share stories while they decorate.
(And yes, I do eavesdrop while passing through with more of whatever they need).
The royal icing that uses meringue powder provides the best artistry.
Naturally, we have sprinkles and other decorations.
Practical tips
Once my daughter and her friends were old enough, they took over everything but dinner.
While we started with simple sugar cookies, as they grew older we added more varieties of cookies.
The guests roll out the cookie dough, brandish cookie cutters, bake the cookies and even make the fudge.
The air is full of sugar!
The guests bring cookie cutters, some of the needed ingredients, drinks, food, whatever.
Everyone goes home with a plate full of cookies, after I get first choice for my family.
They now do all the clean up and I now return in the morning to a clean kitchen.
This guy is an artist; his cookies were beautiful!
The evening and the cookies are gifts to my daughter’s friends and their family.
But these years, it’s all about touching base with the people she grew up with.
Merry Christmas!
Have a cookie!
Tweetables
Made in my kitchen!
What cookies are good for Christmas? Click to Tweet
16 years of Christmas cookie parties. Click to Tweet
Christmas cookies and reunions. Click to Tweet
Those molasses cookies look like a recipe I’ve been looking for, a favorite from childhood that I’ve never managed to find. Thank you!