How to Host a Holiday Cookie Swap
What is a Holiday Cookie Swap and How do You Host One? Well, Let Me Explain…
It’s the Holiday Season and we are going to have some festive, winter holiday fun!
Every month, B R E A T H E + C A L M's founder, Wendy Johnston hosts a Community Mason Jar Meal Swap for those who want to eat healthy and have a great time doing it!
So, What is a Mason Jar Holiday Cookie Swap you ask? And why are we hosting it? Well, let me explain…
WHAT IS A COOKIE SWAP:
A cookie swap is when you gather with friends and bring a collection of already-made, cookies to trade with one another.
Each participant brings the required number of individual, pint-sized portions of the same cookies and takes home the same number jars of cookies (made by the other people). Yummy!!
You make one recipe…and spend one afternoon cooking cookies instead of the entire week.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN A MEAL/COOKIE SWAP?
❄️ Save time & money by cooking in bulk
❄️ We meet up at a restaurant…so, we enjoy a dinner with our male, female and non-binary Foodie friends!
❄️ Stock your freezer, fridge and cupboard with Holiday cookies…if loving you is wrong…I don’t wanna be right…
❄️ Get in the Holiday Spirit!
HOW TO FIND PARTICIPANTS: Work colleagues, friends, family, clubs or groups you belong to, gym buddies, workout buddies…you never know who might like to cook, be healthy and enjoy a nice evening out with friends…just ask. Meet-Up Foodie groups and Facebook Foodie Groups are also a great place to find fellow foodies.
Just FYI, If you’re in the Los Angeles area and want to join us, find our schedule and Info here as Mason Jar Meal Swap, on the First or Second Monday of every month, around 7:00 P.M.
COOKIE EXAMPLES:
Chocolate chip cookies, no-bake cookies, Italian rainbow cookies, Chinese almond cookies, wedding cookies, snickerdoodles, peanut butter cookies, madelines, macaroons, meringue,
If it’s a cookie…you can swap it, however, cookies eaten at the holidays, in any culture, are the most festive and most welcomed!
WHERE TO MEET:
You could take turns hosting at each other’s homes, meet at a restaurant, a coffee shop, at the park…be creative!
HOW DOES THE SWAP WORK:
Decide upon a mutually agreed number of participants (We set our cap to 10 max)
Decide upon method of communication, where people can sign up and send the host their dietary restrictions.
Mutually agree upon the container to hold the contents of your meal. I have found that everyone using exactly the same container works best.
B R E A T H E + C A L M uses Wide Mouth Pint Jars with Lids. (These are what we also use for our Mason Jar Meal Swap. They’re great for freezing meals)
3 days before the event, the host will send a message to each participant, with how many servings to make and dietary restrictions. 10 participants max.
Cook one recipe.
Double or triple the recipe to meet required number of participants…5 or so cookies to a jar per person, depending on the size of your cookies.
For example: 10 participants = cooking around 50 or 60 cookies = 2 to 3 dozen.
Fill one Pint-Size Mason Jar per person with cookies
Label the Jar
Decide upon where to post the recipe, so that way if someone loves your cookies, they can make them, themselves.
Take Jars to the Restaurant (a small portable cooler bag works great)
Swap Jars and Recipe (usually at the end of the meal).
Just FYI B R E A T H E + C A L M posts their recipes in the “Comments” section of this blog. Return to this Blog Post after December 9th, 2025, to see the recipes for the cookies that we brought!
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TIPS FOR FILLING AND FREEZING COOKIES IN MASON JARS:…(Yep, you read that right…you can freeze cookies for later and they’re still delicious!)
#1- Freeze cookies in jars with straight sides. Shoulder jars break in freezer.
#2- Fill jar up to 1 inch from top
#3- Cool hot cookies before freezing.
❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️
Mason Jar Meal Swap Happenings:
Monday, November 9th, 2024 our Mason Jar Holiday Cookie Swap will be taking place at:
ABOUT THE RESTAURANT:
Denae’s Diner + Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at The Delphi Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles
❄️ Denae's Diner, located inside of The Delphi Hotel, is a modern take on a retro Hollywood diner. During the holidays, Denae's bubbles over with festive cheer. Miracle Cocktail Bar, a holiday-themed pop-up cocktail bar comes on board to serve up holiday cocktails in this festive setting. With kitschy holiday décor, professionally-developed cocktails and the nostalgic energy of the holidays long ago, Denae's is sure to get even the grouchiest grinch in the holiday spirit.
https://www.denaesdiner.com