In haste I put up the invitations for this year's Christmas Cookie Exchange and after the post was up I thought it might be nice for me to explain how I host this kind of get together.

The first cookie exchange I attended was hosted by a wonderful co-worker, Lynn, who I always admired. She was always thoughtful, bringing flowers into the office occasionally, hosting student tea's for the younger girls. Her children adored her and I admired her style and especially her hospitality. I truly think that that was her gift!

I was invited to her annual cookie exchange and I had no idea what it was going to be like. I baked my cookies, put them on a plate (it may have even been paper...eek!) and went to the party, with my 3 month old in tow. I walked into a beautiful home, filled with chatty woman, hot tea and cookies galore! It was a great night of socilizing with other woman, that is, until my sweet 3 month old daughter decided she needed to start screaming...

After just one cookie exchange I was hooked! I love to entertain and the idea of making one kind of cookie and going home with an assortment for my family, sounded great!

So when I decided to host my first Cookie Exchange I headed right over to google! I found great resources over at <a href="http://www.robinsweb.com/cookies/cookie-invite.html" target="_blank">Robin's Christmas Cookie Exchange</a>. One of the keys to the party, in my opinion, is sharing the instructions for the exchange. It may seem a bit silly to have so many "rules", but trust me, it helps to make the exchange go smoothly!

Here is a copy of the Cookie Exchange Instructions that I included in my invitations (most of the wording for these instructions came straight from Robin's website above)

<img src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/IMG_6366_3744.jpg" alt="" />

Now I just have to decide what kind of cookies I want to make... Any requests?

For all those who are wondering, "where's my invitation?" - Don't worry, they are not in the mail yet... you should get yours soon!