Christmas Advent Calendar: Day 2

What's a girl to do with dozens of freshly-baked sugar cookies? Host a Christmas Cookie Swap for all her friends and family! That's exactly what Tory and I did on the second day of our Christmas advent calendar.

This is the fourth year I've hosted a holiday cookie party and each year's party is a little different than the last. In 2009 and 2010, a few of my close friends and Minnesota family gathered to bake Christmas cookies. Last year, Andi and I hosted a couple's holiday cocktail party and cookie swap. This year with Andi's busy work schedule, I decided Tory and I would host a Christmas Cookie Swap together with kids in the mix.

I sent these invitations to all our party guests a few weeks ago. Either today was a good date for everyone to get together or the simple fact kids were welcome meant almost every person I invited to the party came to celebrate. There were 20 adults and 24 kids in all (who were mostly under the age of six except for Andi's nine and 10-year-old cousins). My house was plum FULL of people and my heart just couldn't have been happier. This is the reason for the season (after the Jesus part, of course).

I served pinwheel roll-ups, meatballs, meat and cheese, cinnamon almonds and a hot chocolate bar. My friend Val brought fruit to share, another friend, Alyssa, brought a delicious olive tapenade and my friend Julie brought juice boxes for the kids. There's barely any leftovers so you know the food was a hit! All the recipes are featured on my Pinterest board.

I had the big idea of hosting a frost-your-own-cookie station for the kids this year. Yesterday, I was kicking myself as I was knee-deep in sugar cookie and frosting making but today, I'm so happy I pulled it together. The kids had an absolute blast decorating their cookies. I loved watching each kid squirt piles of frosting on their cookie, dump boatloads of sprinkles on top, add a few M&Ms for good measure and shove the sloppy cookie right into their mouth. I looked over once and saw my girlfriend Julie's little boy squeezing frosting directly into his mouth. Head tipped back and all. Another time, my friend Suzanne's little girl was literally drinking the bowl of sprinkles like a cup. The kids had so much fun! I apologize to all my friends who's kids were jacked up on sugar highs this afternoon.

I used our three-season porch as the scene for the actual cookie swap. It works perfectly because it's just cool enough out there to keep the treats chilled and there's a door to close to keep the children at bay.

Tory eyeing all the Christmas treats

My very favorite photo of the day is this one -- someone's kiddo just couldn't resist taking a bite of the delicious cookies. As the party was winding down and I began to tidy up, I saw this perfectly-bitten Peanut Butter Blossom left on the tray. This photo makes me smile every time I look at it.

We attempted a group shot of all the kiddos at the party. This isn't all of them, of course. Some kids refused to be in the picture and others kept running away. I think this captures the essence of the party, all in one freeze-frame moment.

I may be sweeping up sprinkles for weeks, but it's all worth it. Another fun Christmas Cookie Swap in the books!