Thank you to Frito Lay for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #ad
I’ve got tips to show you How to Throw a fun Holiday Pajama and Cookie Party so you can spend less time in the kitchen baking and more time gathering with friends and sharing treats together.
Bring on the calories…eh hem, I mean cookies, bars and candy! Every year, I host a cookie exchange party. When I was little it was the highlight of the season to receive cookie trays from my mother’s friends.
My sister and I would quickly pick out which ones were ours; Pecan Tassies and Cherry Bing bars for me and Corn Flake wreaths for her. We’d have a belly ache before we knew it. #worthit
Now that I’m on my own and live 2 hours from my mom, I don’t get trays of cookies so I have to resort to baking my own. Well a few years ago I figured, why not have a low-key, fun, cookie party with all of my girlfriends? And that is just what we did.
Each year, as soon as Halloween is over, I start planning. What foods am I going to serve, what cookie am I going to bake and what pair of pajamas am I going to wear because Heaven forbid I rock the same ones I did last year!
Oh yeah, did I mention it was low-key? P.J.’s welcome and required. I’ll raise a glass of sangria to that! There are so many parties during the holiday season that are either black tie, ugly sweaters or dress up. Forget that, let’s all get comfy, eat some party food, cookies, candy and have some drinks.
I host the PJ cookie Party at my house and my parties aren’t complete without a tablescape. Much like our Ugly sweater party, I like to include a variety of foods both store-bought and homemade. I don’t require the girls to bring anything over except a few dozen cookies or bars to swap and boy did they deliver this year! Look at these treats!
I also have them email me 1 week before the party with their recipe for 2 reasons. 1. There are no duplicates and 2. One of my thank you gifts to them for coming is a set of all the recipes. I have attached a printable recipe card for you to write down all your baking recipes this year. We’ll think of it as our own little virtual PJ cookie party. I’m still in my PJ, aren’t you!?
I fell in love with the Smartfood Indulgences Raspberry and Dark chocolate popcorn so I grabbed another bag for the cookie party as there is no such thing as too much chocolate. I also cannot get enough of Lay’s Wavy Milk Chocolate covered potato chips, so those made an appearance too.
We needed some salt to balance out ALL THE SUGAR, so I grabbed everyone’s favorite Lay’s Kettle Cooked original potato chips, Tostitos® Scoops!® Tortilla Chips, salsa, some cheese and crackers and veggies to balance everything out.
I also wanted to make a festive, delicious fun dip and knew the Lay’s Wavy Milk Chocolate covered potato chips would pair amazingly with a Peppermint Cheesecake Dip. Nothing says the holidays like peppermint and cheesecake!
A party with my girlfriends is not complete unless cocktails are being served. I’ve made it a tradition to come up with festive sangria. This year I went with white sangria with cranberries and rosemary. It’s delicious and packed with seasonal holiday flavors.
For my non sangria drinkers, I grabbed some Shock Top; Ginger wheat. I’m a huge fan of ginger and when I saw it, I had to give it a try. We all loved it!
There was also Lipton Peach Iced tea.
In addition to giving the girls a set of recipe cards, I also like to give them another little trinket as a thank you for coming and bringing everyone their tasty treats. Last year I went with an adorable little snowman ornament that was either holding a whisk, tray of cookies or a bowl. For this year, I found these awesome bags for them to tote home their goodies. They can be found at Oriental Trading.
When it comes to party ware I’m a big fan of Oriental Trading. That store has everything. I also love that it’s online so if I don’t have time to run to the store, I can order right from my couch. Same with Frito Lay brand products. You can purchase on their website and the retailer will ship right to your home. Score!
As for my P.J.’s when I saw these “cookies by the dozen” I couldn’t throw them into my online cart fast enough. I mean, could these be any more perfect?
For my treat this year, I went with Cherry White Chocolate Cookies. They’re delicious and feature cherry and white chocolate chips! I’ll have a recipe and a giveaway on the blog very soon!
When the party was over, all the girls went home with 6 dozen cookies, a full stomach and a full heart. I’m grateful for all of my girlfriends around the holidays, and always and am so happy they love to help make our parties awesome!
Don’t forget to download the free printable recipe card as my little party gift to you. And don’t forget to #strawberryblondiekitchen on social media so I can see how you use your recipe card this holiday season! I also want to see those holiday treats!
Christmas Cookie Printable Recipe Card | Expressions Paperie
Happy Holiday baking, Everyone! ? ?
still hungry for more?
follow me on facebook, pinterest and instagram for more deliciousness!
pin this recipe on pinterest!
subscribe! sign up for easy + delicious recipes delivered weekly-straight to your inbox!
Leave a Reply