Third Annual Church Ladies Cookie Swap

Friday and Saturday have been very full days for me.  I worked on Friday and came home long enough to change clothes then go to my church to host a ladies' cookie swap.  I hated setting the alarm for 6:45 Saturday morning to go back to work to serve Mansion Tea to 120 guests, but the Christmas rush will soon be over.

23 ladies attended the 3rd annual cookie swap and a fun time was had by all.  Each lady was asked to bake 4 dozen cookies to exchange [along with the recipe], and there was such a yummy variety.  I baked a cookie that goes by several names:  Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, and Crescent Cookies [to name a few].  Each year I've made a different cookie.

My hubby and I arrived at the church at 5:00 o'clock to help set up for the 6:30 p.m. swap.  I keep the tablescape, menu and prizes simple because there's no charge to attend [aside from bringing cookies] and the activity isn't a line item in the church budget.  It has grown each year and next year we might not be able to fit into the same area.

Hot spiced apple cider and pizza is served at the beginning of the event and the ladies enjoy a time of visiting and fellowship.  I was pleased to see several young ladies in attendance which gives me hope that baking isn't becoming a thing of the past.  It requires some time and effort, but it's so worth it.  As the Pillsbury jingle goes, "Nothing says lovin' like something from the oven!"

After the ladies ate, I did a very brief [10-minute] talk about Cookie Jars.  Only two ladies in attendance had a cookie jar collection, but most of the ladies had at least one.  I was surprised to learn that cookie jars are a relatively new kitchen accessory.  They began being manufactured in the 1930's by McCoy Pottery in Roseville, Ohio.  Then other potteries began making them too.  I shared the first cookie jar I owned was a bridal shower gift in the shape of a stove, made by McCoy Pottery.  I used it when my children were growing up, but then sold it in a garage sale.  Out of curosity I looked on E-bay and found several ranging from $17 to $45, so it wasn't highly collectible, but some cookie jars are worth hundreds of dollars.

A lady in Indiana has the largest documented cookie jar collection with 2,653 of them!  I asked if any of the ladies had a cookie jar memory or story to tell and some of them did.

Then I did a 5-minute devotional taken from 52 Lessons from It's a Wonderful Life by Bob Welch.  I chose lesson #20 titled, It's in Helping Others That We Help Ourselves.  Clarence [the angel in the movie] was an angel of compassion, empathy, and hope who was eager to help George Bailey.  He helped him realize the accomplishments he made that wouldn't have happened if he wasn't born... that his life had purpose and meaning.  And because Clarence was successful in helping George believe, he in turn got his wings.

Then it was time for the cookie swap to begin.  Each lady got two cookies of every kind to begin with and then if there were cookies left they went through the line again until all the cookies were gone.  

Are you hungry yet?  ;-)   It would be hard to pick a favorite.  Two prizes were awarded [cookie themed dish towels with matching pot holders].  The ladies chose the individually wrapped decorated cookies for one prize [pictured below], and said the other prize should go to my daughter-in-law for baking the most cookies - 12 dozen [4 dozen for her mother, her daughter and herself.]

[Prize winning cookie]

We were done by shortly after 8:00 p.m. and everybody went home a winner with 4 dozen different cookies than they brought.   Nothing goes better with a cup of hot tea than a cookie or two!  

Have you gone to a cookie swap/exchange this year?  It's really a fun tradition.

Christmas High Tea at Waldenwoods Cromaine Hall

A while back I received an e-mail about a High Tea at Waldenwood's Resort and Conference Center in Howell, MI - about 54 miles from where I live.  I had never heard of teas at this place before but the website said it's been owned and operated by the Crouse family since 1837.  Henry Ford and Thomas Edison are two well-known men who liked to go there.

I usually can't attend teas since most are on Saturdays when I'm working at The Whitney.  But this holiday tea had a Thursday option with two seatings [11:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m.], so I bought two tickets for 2:00 p.m. Snow threatened early this morning [and tickets were non-refundable], but by the time we left home the roads were clear.  It was bitter cold [17 degrees] and windy, but warm and cozy inside the historic Cromaine Hall where the tea was held.

The hall/lodge was beautifully decorated for Christmas and since we were the first ones to arrive I was able to get a lot of pictures.  There were three fireplaces in the hall/lodge.  The one below paid tribute to the founder, Robert Crouse, with a bronze plaque bearing his image.

There were several beautifully decorated Christmas trees and my hubby and I posed for a picture by one of them in the entryway foyer.

~ Inside Cromaine Hall. ~

Teapots used during the tea.

The teapots were filled with hot water and we chose our individual tea from a selection of Tea Forte pyramids placed on the tables.  I chose Bombay Chai black tea and my hubby had Earl Grey.

The first thing they served us was a plate of sweet appetizers.  I've never seen that done before.  It made me think of the quote: "Life is short, eat dessert first!"  ;-)

It was a High Tea true to its definition. There were no tiered servers filled with dainty finger sandwiches, but a very substantial 3-course meal.

~A warm from the oven Cranberry Scone came out first. ~

~ Followed by a Salad served with Ranch or Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing ~

We had three choices for our main entree:  Sicilian Beef Short Ribs, Chicken Florentine or Cavatappi Pasta.  My hubby and I chose the Chicken Florentine which was very good.

The last offering was a yummy Walnut Cake with Salted Carmel Sauce.

I was happy to see several men there with their wives.  It made conversation enjoyable for the men.  The tea was $70 per person inclusive of tax and gratuity.  I don't know if they offer other teas beyond Christmas, but it was nice to find a new venue that was lovely.  I hope you enjoyed attending with us vicariously.

A Vintage Mechanical Santa

Today I wrapped the Christmas presents for my granddaughter Tiffany and her family and took them to the post office where they will be delivered to them in California.

The Christmases Past Shutterfly album that was supposed to be a gift never happened due to a technical issue with Shutterfly, but Tiffany will get it eventually.  Instead, she and her husband got a gift card to Outback Steak House.  Evie got LEGO Gingerbread ornaments and a DVD of the The Best Christmas Pageant Ever from the 1983 TV movie.  And Juliette got her first watch - a Disney time teacher featuring Elsa from the movie Frozen.

When my daughter was recently in California for Thanksgiving, Tiffany reminisced about the vintage mechanical Santa I used to put under the Christmas tree when she and her siblings were younger.  She asked her mom if she thought I would give her the Santa.  The Santa is over 60 years old because my mom used to put him under her Christmas tree before passing him on to me. When he's wound up he rings the bell in his hand.  He's still in his original box and looks pretty good for his age.

Here's a picture of grandson, Brandon, [Tiffany's older brother] holding the Santa in 2002. All the kids loved him.

When my daughter told me about Tiffany's wish to have the Santa, I said, of course.  He's been tucked away in a tote of old ornaments and decorations and hasn't been under my Christmas tree for a few years now.  I figured it was time to pass him on to a new generation, and retrieved him from the tote in the basement and packed him in the box with their gifts today. It will be a nice surprise when she opens the postal box.

Here's to many more years of Santa ringing his bell in his new home!

Do you have vintage Christmas toys or decorations that have been in your family for many years?   My hubby gave his childhood train set to our youngest son who now displays it under his Christmas tree.

The train was a Christmas present to my hubby and his younger brother when they were kids.  They made an agreement that the first one to have a son would get the train, so my hubby got it.  We displayed it under our Christmas tree for several years and my hubby told our two boys the first one to have a son would get it.  So the train went to Jeremy and it's still in good working condition after all these years.

[Jerry and Jeremy]

Christmas Happenings

Children make Christmas special.  Yesterday was our Children's Christmas program at church which was enjoyed by all.  Granddaughter Brooke was one of the readers.

After church a group of long-time friends went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch.  My girlfriend, Lori, was the photographer so she's not in the picture.

One of the sweet ladies at the end of the table [left side], gave each of us a jar of her homemade Strawberry Jam beautifully decorated for Christmas.

When we got home, my hubby put up the Christmas tree.  It's not decorated yet, but at least it's up!

Today he and I went to The Whitney to wrap teacup favors for the December 21st Christmas Tea.   He cut the pieces of cellophane, then I wrapped the teacups with them.  We got one case done [24].  Four more cases to go!

Each guest will get a half oz. package of our signature Mistletoe Kiss black tea tucked inside their teacup favor.