How to Plan a Cookie-Decorating Party

For most of us, sweet, spicy aromas wafting from the kitchen evoke instant memories of Christmases past. Why not add to your memory stash - and turn your holiday baking from merely a pleasant chore to a festive get-together with friends?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Decorating Supplies
• Prizes
• Cookies
• Mulling Spices
• Wines
• Cookie Cutters
• Cookie Sheets
• Spoons
• Cookie sheets
• Spoons
• cider

1. Set a date for your party.

2. Decide how many pastry artists your kitchen can comfortably handle and who you want to include.

3. Take an inventory of your baking and decorating supplies and decide what you'll provide and what you'll want guests to bring. For example, maybe you'll supply all the frosting and trimmings to adorn the cookies, but each guest will need to bring an apron.

4. Issue invitations, asking each guest to come equipped with a few dozen cookies suitable for decorating, along with whatever supplies you want them to bring.

5. Do your shopping.

6. Bake your own batches of cookies.

7. Clear plenty of work space in the kitchen or dining room.

8. Gather a palette of decorations, such as frosting in various colors, cinnamon hearts, silver-ball candies and colored sugars. Set them out, along with tools such as frosting tubes and sugar spoons.

9. Let your artistic spirits soar, then sample each other's creations along with mulled wine or cider.

Tips & Warnings

• As with any gathering during the busy holiday season, the further in advance you plan your decorating party, the better the attendance will be.
• For added fun, give prizes for the prettiest, funniest or most offbeat cookies.

[kims3003]

on 8/7/2009 This sounds great! Will use many of the ideas!

[kims3003]

on 8/7/2009 This sounds great! Will use many of the ideas.

on 11/22/2005 To have fun and save time and money, have a holiday cookie exchange party. I usually make this a "women only" party. First, send out invitations with the "rules" of the party (i.e. cookies must be homemade, the recipe must be included). You must get an RSVP to find out what kinds of cookies will be coming (you don't want duplicates). On the day of the party, have your house decorated for the holidays, play nice holiday music, and provide beverages. Each guest should arrive with 6 dozen baked cookies, and an air-tight container. Your party can follow any type of order...You can even have a best cookie contest! The main event is when everyone goes around the cookie table (which can be an addition to your party if you use cake stands or pretty boxes to display the cookies) and takes 4 of each cookie until everyone has 6 dozen to take home. Another version is to have everyone make 1 dozen cookies for each guest. That can sometimes be overwhelming when there are 12 or more people. Have fun, and enjoy the cookies!