Neighborhood Cookie Swap

I'm pretty happy with how my invitations turned out.

Just over a month ago, I tried to start something fun in my neighborhood. We left goodies for two neighbors and the note saying "You Have Been Boo'd." I had hoped that the fun would spread to at least a few more houses in the neighborhood, but as far as I can tell, that is where it stopped. I was slightly disappointed. However, I realize that most people work during the day, so they probably couldn't secretly deliver goodies to people. That's why I came up with a new plan for interacting with the neighbors this holiday season: a neighborhood cookie exchange. Everyone in our subdivision is invited to meet at my house one evening in early December. They are asked to bring two dozen cookies, divided into groups of six for exchanging with other people from the neighborhood. I suggested that people could include their recipe, but only if they wanted to. I am really trying to make this something that is easy for people to do.

I hand-made the invitations, 27 in all, to look like aprons with the party details printed on a small card that can be slipped in and out of the apron's "pocket." I thought they turned out cute, but I am probably nuts for spending the time to make them myself. I did this because a) I thought that little extra personal touch might entice people to participate and b) I like making things myself. Then the kids and I all bundled up in our coats, hats, and mittens (yeah, it's suddenly cold enough for all that!) and went for a walk through our subdivision two days ago, stopping at each mailbox to drop off an invitation. So far, I have heard back from only one person. The good news is that she said she was coming to the cookie exchange! The bad news is that she asked which house was mine. I recognized her name when she called, though, because she is my next door neighbor! We have lived next to each other for over four years, and she doesn't even know my name. Do you see why I want need to get to know people in our neighborhood better?

In case you are curious, I came up with my idea for the cards after seeing this kit. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, so I created something similar with materials I had on hand.