<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  The best way to throw a festive, fun (but super casual) holiday party is to host a cookie swap and there are still 2 weeks to plan one. Invite a few guests to bring over treats for exchanging: Each person will walk away with a stash of assorted Christmas cookies\u2014and maybe a new favorite recipe or two! Here&amp;#039;s how to organize a textbook cookie swap for your friend and family\u2026   Send out invitations via regular post or email. Some online invitation sites even have cookie swap\u2013specific cards, like this sweet and simple invite from Paperless Post. Request that attendees send you the name of their cookie when they RSVP, this way you can remedy any duplicates. Do this ASAP so folks have time to plan and respond.  If you&amp;#039;d like to throw together a last-minute cookie swap, see below.    Each person should bring \u00BD to 1 dozen cookies per person.  Stick with recipes that have large yields (between 6 to 8 dozen cookies) or double/triple your favorite recipe. It may seem like a lot but remember it&amp;#039;s much easier to make multiple batches of the same cookie than to hunt around for the perfect mix of recipes! Avoid delicate cookies that may break or crumble during the swap.  Only use recipes you&amp;#039;ve made (and loved!) before or come from a recipe source you truly trust\u2014this is not the time for experimenting. Need some inspiration? Choose a recipe from our &amp;quot;Best Christmas Cookie&amp;quot; round-up, they&amp;#039;re all winners, or check out the &amp;quot;Good Housekeeping The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook&amp;quot; for 60 of our favorite cookie swap recipes.     Cookie swaps are fabulous for picking up new favorite recipes (especially since they&amp;#039;ve been vetted through your loved ones)! Send a recipe card template with your invite and ask friends to add/print their recipes for the party OR print out blank recipe cards and have guests fill them in during the festivities. I designed these recipe cards just for you! Download them for free, here.     Choose 1 table to be home base for the cookie swap: Cover it with a tablecloth or butcher&amp;#039;s paper.  Put out empty platters, bowls and plates for everyone&amp;#039;s cookies. If you don&amp;#039;t have enough, line shirt or shoe boxes with cheery tissue paper to make an inexpensive serving vessel.  Make sure you label the cookies. I usually design my own, like the one you see above. Download the template, here (print on heavy paper or regular printer paper, then cut out and fold along the dashed line). Other label options could be name-tag stickers, masking tape or index cards.     What to drink: Set out coffee, tea, ice-cold milk, eggnog (we have a great light eggnog recipe here!) and/or warm cider. For something extra festive, make a holiday punch\u2014I&amp;#039;ve been dying to try this recipe from the 1973 &amp;quot;Good Housekeeping Cookbook&amp;quot;\u2026  Sprinkle 4 cups strawberries with \u00BD cup sugar in a large bowl. Add 3\u00BD cups sauterne (sweet French wine) and 1 cup cognac and chill for 2 hours. To serve, transfer to a chilled punch bowl and stir in frozen cherries. Slowly add 3 to 4 bottle champagne or sparkling wine.    What else to serve: Make sure you have some savory snacks to offset the cookies but keep it simple. I usually serve a cheese plate, cream cheese\u2013cucumber tea sandwiches, mixed nuts, popcorn sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan cheese, pickles, prosciutto wrapped bread sticks or deviled eggs.     Set up a packing station so guests can wrap up their cookies...  You can buy bakery boxes in bulk for baking and craft supply stores (like Michael&amp;#039;s), online from sources like Paper Mart or you may be able to purchase from your local bakery. Plain shirt boxes work well, too!  Cupcake liners can serve as cookie cups\u2014they help secure and separate the different cookies within one container.  Have ribbon, baking twine, labels, stickers and doilies on hand for decorating.  Make sure you have enough plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil incase your friends and family would rather wrap up cookies on their own platter. Ask guests to pitch in on packaging supplies to cut down on cost and improve the overall selection!   HOW-TO HOST A LAST MINUTE COOKIE SWAP  Skip the regular mail invite and stick with e-mail or e-card for the fastest responses. Have friends print out their recipes from the Internet or photocopy their cookbook/hand-written recipes. Still too much? Take photos of the recipes at the party and email around later, if desired. No time to bake? Have friends bring their favorite bakery cookies or a mix of homemade/bakery-bought. You&amp;#039;ll still get a delicious assortment of goodies. Another idea: Buy or bake plain cookies and invite friends over to decorate them together!  Set up a drink bar with minimal effort: Divide 1 gallon milk between 3 small pitchers. Stir in vanilla extract, almond extract, chocolate syrup, cinnamon, etc to make a few different flavors in seconds. Buy brown paper lunch bags at the grocery store and have friends decorate them with markers and/or paint pens for quick, non-fuss cookie packaging during the party.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a18334/how-to-host-a-cookie-swap/>