I hosted a cookie exchange for a small group of girlfriends!
One of the benefits of hosting a casual cookie exchange at your own house? You can wear snazzy gold slippers instead of shoes.
(Yes, that picture was just supposed to be of my wine but the slippers made an appearance, so I decided to roll with it. Ha!)
I also wore my new cozy Rudolph sweater for the occasion.
(Yes, I ended up getting it after swimming in a pool of regret when I initially left the boutique where I first tried it on. I’m pretty sure it’s a Lady Rudolph sweater because of the eyelashes, which obviously makes it extra special.)
My girlfriends arrived around 7 p.m. and I tried to have a bunch of not-so-sweet snacks on hand since I knew we’d have a ton of cookies to enjoy throughout the evening.
I put together a small spread that included pita chips and veggies with roasted red pepper hummus, almonds and ham and cheese sliders which were very easy to make and a big hit!
My mom previously made the same sliders when we were in town a few months ago and I couldn’t stop eating them, so I knew I wanted to recreate them for my little get-together. I followed this recipe from AllRecipes.com but used honey wheat King’s Hawaiian rolls (<—highly recommended) and omitted the dried onion simply because we didn’t have any on hand.
I was also pretty excited to break out our new balloon wine glasses.
I bought them over the weekend from Pier One (they’re really affordable and I had a gift card) and I love the look of them.
Once everyone arrived, we displayed the cookies on the counter, chatted, sipped our wine and hung out for a little while before it was time for a white elephant gift exchange!
(Megan clearly won the cutest cookie award for her reindeer cookies! How adorable are they!?)
For the white elephant gift exchange, I told everyone to grab stuff from around their house (valued at around $10) and wrap it up to re-gift since “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!”
During our Friendsgiving parties in the past, we’d host a white elephant gift exchange every year, and it always amazes me what gifts end up being the most coveted. (Last year a 24-piece Tupperware set was the gift everyone wanted… including the guys!)
For the white elephant gift exchange, everyone then draws a number out of a hat and picks gifts out of the pile in that order. You can then “steal” an already-opened gift when your turn comes about or elect to choose one of the remaining wrapped gifts from the center pile. It’s a lot of fun!
I ended up walking away with a fun mug and peppermint tea that my friend Brittany brought which I loved.
Before it was time to go, we made sure to fill up the our cookie boxes with a bunch of cookies!
(The cookie boxes are from Michael’s and they worked like a charm. If you’re hosting a cookie exchange this year, I highly recommend them.)
It was a great night with some great girlfriends. I can’t wait to host another cookie exchange again next year!
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I love it!!! From the festive sweater and slippers to the adorable cookie set up and that mug cozy is waaay adorable! Inspired 🙂
So much fun! I did a cookie exchange and yankee swap party last weekend but totally didn’t take any pictures to blog about it. Oops! I also wore a reindeer “ugly” sweater!
AH! I love your reindeer sweater! I threw out my only Christmas sweater when I moved and I immediately regretted it!
White elephant exchanges are so much fun! They are entertainment in and of themselves. Nice spread and cute sweater. Looks ike a great night!
Oh my gosh! I love that sweater! How cute 🙂
Looks like such a fun night! I love the idea of cookie exchanges!
What a fun party! LOVING those slippers!!!
This looks so fun! I love those boxes. We had a cookie exchange this year but all of us forgot boxes to bring our cookies home in so sandwich bags it was!
Those reindeer cookies are beyond adorable! They caught my eye first! What a fantastic idea 🙂 Now I really want to do one!! Love the cookie boxes and the white elephant gifts are great! Looks like a lot of fun and I am LOVING your slippers!!
You have no idea how much I love that you bought that sweater! So fun!
haha! it had to happen. 🙂
I’ve never done a cookie exchange but it’s such a great idea. Also love that white elephant idea of stuff you already have. I might be stealing that idea for a future party
Such a great idea to have everyone bring their best cookies! I get overwhelmed baking during the holidays. Why not make it a party and throw in some wine?! Yes please!
LOVE this idea!! I’m seeing it pop up everywhere lately. Next year I’ll def. host one! And, um, your kitchen is stunning my dear!
thank you!! <3
Sounds like fun! I’d love to know where you found your gold stripe plates. I’m hosting a party this weekend and they would be perfect!
homegoods! they were only $1.99!
This Saturday my sister and mom in laws and I are getting together to bake holiday cookies together. (I can’t bake and have requested “adult supervision” … so it’s a modern take on a cookie exchange! I am definitely stopping by Michael’s to grab these cookie boxes so we can each take home a variety of cookie goodness! And thanks for the slider recipe …. I’m thinking about hosting a New Years Day Football frenzie feast and these would be PERFECT! Jackpot of posts, Julie! 🙂
yay!! the sliders are seriously so, so good — and REALLY easy to make! you can also prep them ahead of time which is very helpful!
Such a fun idea! Today is my company’s holiday Christmas party, so I’m hoping there are plenty of treats involved! Also, can we just talk about how awesome your kitchen is??!! I would love to see a full picture!
thank you!! i keep meaning to do a full house tour! it’s on my list!!
Looks like a fun time! We are doing our white elephant with my friends on Saturday so I’m super excited… so fun watching people open up gifts (gag and good).
That sounds like a really great party! I’m totally going to suggest this idea to my girlfriends. While Elephant is always a blast too 😀 Ps I want that Reindeer sweater! Too cute.
I love doing cookie exchanges! My close friend is having one this coming weekend and she was thinking about doing a hot chocolate bar. Yum!! But I love you had hummus and veggies on hand. Also, super cute Christmas sweater-you make everything look so cute 🙂 Merry Christmas.
What a FUN evening!! You’re making me want to host a last minute girls’ night cookie exchange myself. 😉 I absolutely adore your Rudolph sweater. I think it was a good choice to get it! And those slippers…love! Oh, and your kitchen is beautiful from what I can see!! Love everything all around!
Those reindeer cookies look great. What a fab idea to use pretzels as antlers. Might have to steal that idea this Christmas…!
Loving the slippers!! And those ham and cheese sliders look so delicious I might have to give those a try. So simple!
So fun!!! Slippers and wine… sounds like a perfect evening. 😉 And I agree with the others, your kitchen looks beautiful!
What a cute party idea from the sweaters, slippers to the cookies and fun eats! Love it!
I LOVE the Rudolph sweater! I did a cookie party last year, and it really was such a blast!
My mom makes those sliders too – SO SO good! I’m doing a cookie exchange with the women in my moms group. I’m excited to get to try just a bit of all different kinds of goodies 🙂
Love the idea of a cookie exchange .
Cute wine glasses !
Scrolling/reading through your post and literally saying “that’s so cute!” to every thing haha…love the slippers, rudolph sweater, wine glasses and all the cookies! And those ham and cheese sliders look delicious! I love, love, love king’s hawaiian rolls 🙂 !
Glad you’ve made some new friends in Charlotte so fast! That’s awesome 🙂
I have never been to a cookie exchange but it sounds so fun! I also love the reindeer sweater – I am sure you will get lots of wear out of it over Christmas!
If I could be anywhere right now, it’d be at the table with all those cookies ;). Looks amazing!
How fun! I need to do this, since its so hard for all our friends to get together for the holidays, I KNOW they will come if cookies are the star of the show!
Your house looks Gorgeous! Are you going to do a post /tour of your new house? I know you did your office, but I am nosey and love seeing others houses! (may even do a few open houses this spring because I am that nosey! I love to see how others use their space/furniture!)
i love house tours, too!! i’ll definitely share more photos! i’ve been meaning to do a little tour — hoping to share the kitchen/living room next week!
Love those reindeer cookies!
how fun! I love that sweater! I might have to run up to Charlotte to get me one 🙂
Can I just say that the tiny glimpses into your kitchen have me really wanting to see the whole thing! From what I can see in the background of your photos, its beautiful! Also, I really love your holiday sweater 🙂
thank you, jen!! i have a kitchen tour on my list for blog posts next week. 🙂
so fun! gotta love a night filled with sugar and girlfriends…
Great party! We are hosting on at our house in a few weeks. I picked up some cute cellophane bags for the cookies, but those boxes are a great idea!
That sweater is adorable!!! PS. I just signed up for Bloglovin’ (I know you had mentioned it in a previous post) and I’m obsessed! Thanks so much for the recommendation-
Happy Holidays!! Xo
I started this tradition a couple of years ago! Love your pictures! Mine is coming up this weekend and I’m having so much fun getting everything ready.
I’m in love with those adorable reindeer cookies! Such a cute idea!
White Elephant exchanges are my favorite. Presents and friendly competition.. my two favorite things!
Lovely party, looks like a great time. Your kitchen is so gorgeous!
What a fun idea! I cant wait to do my white elephant!
Completely fell in love with your kitchen Julie. i can’t wait to see a full house tour. It is so great you have been able to make friends near your new home. Love the outfit and think the slippers take it over the top!
I thought of you last weekend, because I saw your reindeer sweater for sale at Dillard’s! It is super cute!!
Hi Julie! I read your blog every day, but don’t think I have ever commented before. I just had to let you know how awesome I think you are at meeting new people and really taking initiative in forming new friendships! I’m a very positive, but very introverted person and I always have trouble getting past the polite conversation phase to the “invite them over” phase. Judging by how many weddings you’re in and all the fun things you’re always doing and planning, I’d say you mean an awful lot to a lot of people 🙂 Its a very special (and rare!) quality and I just think its awesome! Very inspiring!
Just had to throw that out there :p
this is so sweet! thank you, chelsea. i feel fortunate to have some great friends from high school and college but i definitely struggled to meet people in our previous town (ocala) where there just weren’t a lot of women my age. i think living somewhere where there are a lot of people is so, so helpful and it’s been MUCH easier to meet people in charlotte. i was also a little apprehensive to host something with new friends, so i totally know what you mean about getting past the “conversation phase.” i’m just trying to force myself to overcome some of the awkwardness that comes with adult friendships (sometimes it can feel like you’re asking someone on a date, right!?) and realize that we’re hopefully going to live here for a very long time, so i’d obviously love to make some close friends in our new hometown!
That looks so fun! I recently moved across the country and have yet to make any friends! How do you do it? I am dying for some girl time!
What an awesome party and sweater! Being festive is so much fun. I hosted a holiday party every year before I recently moved and loved getting together with girlfriends. The cookie exchange is always fun, but now unfortunately I can’t eat gluten so I’d need to think of some other type of food party to have! Gotta have food, right?! Have a great day!
hope you are enjoying your new town! moving can be tough — i hope it’s a good fit for you, anya!
This sounds so amazing and yummy. You hosted a fun looking party, it looks like, and I adore your slippers!!
Those reindeer cookies are ADORABLE. I am totally making them for the “wine and cookies” party I am going to next weekend. Looks like we had the same idea. Also, I’ve never heard it called “white elephant” before, so thanks for increasing my holiday knowledge (if I ever win Jeopardy on that one, I know who to share my earnings with!) We call it “Yankee Swap” in New England, or at least we do here in little Rhode Island 🙂
What a fun idea!! I love that you offered healthy snacks to balance out all the cookies. That’s what life’s all about. p.s. – LOVE your gold slippers!