Cookie Exchange

Today we hosted a Cookie Exchange at our house. It was targeted at a mom's group we're a part of, so it was part cookie exchange, part play-date. I never know what to expect for these things, I'm always afraid that I'll host something and then no one will show up and I'll have all this food, or that lots of people will show up and I won't have enough. Although there is an RSVP on the MeetUp site we use, that still doesn't mean that someone won't change their minds at the last minute. For example, for our event today, there were 6 moms who replied that they were coming and 2 "maybes," but we really only had 4 moms actually show. Which was great, it wasn't too many people, and between us all, there were 5 moms and 7 kids.

I haven't even begun to touch the mess left behind by said 7 toddlers, but that's okay. My son will be up from his nap soon, and he'll just drag half of it back out again anyway! So what's the point in cleaning it up now when I'll have to do it again tonight after he's in bed? Although it does make me think that maybe he has too many toys... Here's a shot of what our living room looks like after the party! (The photo doesn't really do it justice, and I know it could be a lot worse, but with just one kid normally, our mess doesn't look quite this messy...)
Nov-08 071.jpg
And besides, I think my husband will get a kick out of seeing how much fun we had!

Now, I have to admit, I tend to be an over-achiever when it comes to things like this. It's just part of my make-up. When it was my class's turn to bring refreshments for a once-a-week study I'm in, I signed up to bring muffins, but still tried to think of what else I could bring. But, I get it honest. My grandmother brings multiple food dishes to family events, and even when she can't make it herself, she'll find someone to come by to pick up food she's made for the pot-lucks. My parents are the same way. We've had people ask us if we always go over the top when it comes to things like that, and it's just who we are. Example: recently my parent's pastor's wife threw a surprise party for her husband. She didn't ask anyone to bring anything, but my grandmother decided she wanted to make egg rolls for the occasion. Now her eggrolls aren't anything to scoff at - they're very good, but very time consuming. Not only did my parents get into the act and help with the egg rolls, my sister brought along stuffed mushrooms (which everyone loved) and I got into the act and brought a fruit tray with dip and a dessert. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to sing my or my family's own praises, I'm just trying to explain how we are. It's like we can't help ourselves.

So, on that note, we'll just say that in getting ready for today's cookie exchange, I had a lot of cooking and other "stuff" to do. I wanted to have something special for the moms to take with them, and I got lucky while at Lowes. I went to buy myself a poinsettia that was advertised as on sale. While I was there, I found these really cute pint-sized poinsettias on sale for 90 cents each. What a great deal! So I got a few of those for everyone to take home. (Which I felt a lot better about after I got the chance to research them a little - the lady at the store told me they were poisionous - but I checked online and apparently that's a myth, they're completely safe. Probably still don't really want to eat them, but they're not going to kill anyone's kid.)

So, I had the take-home item done. The folding table was still up from Thanksgiving as planned, but I had to clear off the clutter that had somehow "appeared" on it as if by magic. My kitchen table also seems to become a catch-all, no matter how determined I am to keep it cleared off. So that had to be taken care of. My son's toys were scattered everywhere, but hey, this WAS a play-date after all, so that's not really a big issue. But, my dear, sweet husband to whom I am ever greatful, cleaned those up last night. So check that off the list. I spent most of Monday cooking the two different types of cookies I have finally decided on (after I realized I had no idea where the third recipe was that I had planned to make. I tried to improvise but decided that it wasn't worth it and stuck with the two I knew would turn out well.) And, I got up what few decorations I had handy (meaning I didn't have to climb in the attic for!). So, this morning I got up later than I meant to and finished off the last of the cookies (cooking them, not eating them, that is!) and still managed to be just a tad behind when the first guest showed up.

Funny thing is, my husband was also running late this AM, so he had to back his car into the yard to make sure he wasn't in the way and the moms could get in and he could get out! But once everyone started showing up the kids got along as well as can be expected for a bunch of toddlers, and although I always feel like my son is a little tyrant, not wanting to share his toys and taking toys away from other kids, thankfully the other moms understand that it's just the age and don't assume it's a reflection of my parenting! We got into the coffee, then into the punch, then into the spinach/artichoke dip (YUM!), then finally into the cookies. We had 9 different types of cookies and brownies, so there was plenty to get into!

When it came time for everyone to leave, we shuffled cookies around to make sure eveyone got some of each kind, but somehow I still feel like people managed to leave most of them with me... Here's what I've got left after it was all said and done.

So, I think the Cookie Exchange was a hit. I definitely plan to make this a tradition for our family. It was a great way to multiply the types (and apparenlty the number) of cookies we have without having to do all the baking ourselves. And, we had a lot of fun. It's so nice to visit with other adults when I normally spend all day with a toddler, and I really enjoy seeing Seth get to play with other kids his age. One of my favorite things is when he and the other kids start just running around, kind of chasing each other, kind of just running for the sake of it. He'll get so excited he'll start this "aaahhhh" sound as he's running - not a yelling or anything, just a "I'm having so much fun!" kind of sound. It's the best!

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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

kellys said:

OK, so the mess wasn't as bad as I thought but I know how overwhelming it probably was for you.

The cookies looked fantastic.

Yes, your family goes overboard on the food, but that's why I try to always attend your family functions :-)

Posted at 04:43 PM, on December 4 2008

Cookie Exchange

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