Yesterday was December 21st, Winter Solstice! To celebrate the longest night of the year (aka make it more bearable) we hosted a Cookie Exchange, and many yummy treats and good times were had by all.
Through pictures of the night, here is a guide to hosting a cookie exchange (which I think should be a year round fete, not just at Christmastime)
Serve small snacks to help calm the sugar overload (we had veggies with hummus and crackers and cheese) and, most importantly, a plethora of drinks. We had mint tea, egg nog, skim milk and homo milk. You need your dairy options when it comes to dunking your cookies!
Find out in advance what type of cookie everyone is bringing. Not only does this minimize duplicates, but it allows you to set up your table so that everyone has a place, signaled by labels, to put their cookies.
As a host, you’re already giving the gift of having all your friends over and entertaining. But it’s always nice to send your guests home with a little something. It doesn’t have to be big, you’re already spending enough on the event itself, but I suggest it be thematic. For last night’s party each gift took home a Christmas cookie cutter I tied on with their bags of cookies.
Have a print out of your cookie recipe (and ask others to do the same) so guests can make their favourite tasty treats on their own.
Select your favourite music and play softly in the background.
Entertain true to your style! We had a small gathering, so it was perfect for one of our favourite pastimes – games!
Hey friends
So the presents are wrapped and all you need is to gift tag them you say? Look no further. Here is a collection of fantastic downloadable gift tags from very talented and very generous people around the web! I personally have used a few of them for bags of treats and they are very sweet and effective. Just make sure you use the highest quality settings on your printer and card stock or some other firm paper.
Happy tagging!
Original images found on respective sites
Edit: Hey Hey check this out folks. Hey Look also did a post today on printable downloads. If you don’t find what you’d like here hop over to their
site to look through some more!
Much to my daily heart ache, we don’t have a fireplace, which means we don’t have a mantel. One day we will, but our rental home took out the fireplace during renovations and all that remains is the (fantastic) brick back of the fireplace in our bedroom.
I can normally get by without a fireplace mantel. In the spring I think “soon I won’t even notice we don’t have one”. In the summer I think “its too hot for a fire. But it would be pretty”. In the autumn I think “It’s getting colder, a fire would be nice” and in the winter I’m just downright depressed. But I never notice its absence more than at Christmastime.
Next to the Christmas tree, the fireplace is the focal point of Christmas decor. Mantels scream at Christmastime, begging to be decorated in garland, stockings and more. And since my mantel is in some home elsewhere in the city that we will one day live in, for now I must simply adore mantle decor from around the web.
#1 / #2 / #3 / #4 / #5 / #6
There’s less than a week of shopping left (eek!) and if you haven’t already finished, you’re straggling to get those last few gifts. You already have that amazing present you spotted ages ago for your beau or best friend, but what the heck are you going to get for that person in your life who has everything?
For under $30, treat them to a day at the spa, at home! It may be a little late to order some of these items, but it gives you some inspiration. And there’s a little something here for everyone:
#1: Vegan Soap bars – $12
#2: Shampoo Bar – $6.99
#3: Raw Coconut Cream – $21
#4: Detox Bath Salts – $12.95
#5: Natural Shave Cream – $22
#6: Canadian Hops Beer Soap – $6.75
#7: Vegan Bath Bombs – $5.95
#8: Kona Coffee & Sugar Detox Scrub – $28
#9: Natural Bubble Bath – $18
