My husband and daughter participate in a father/child program in our area through the YMCA called Y Guides. This month, they took a turn hosting their crew and decided to have a cookie decorating party. Being an already busy month for us, we kept it fun but very simple. Here are our tips for hosting your own low stress, low mess holiday cookie decorating party.
The Cookies
Sugar cookies are common for cookie decorating during the holiday season. We had debated baking some, but honestly, the month overall (and day before) were too busy for us to realistically do so. Instead, we opted for pre-made cookie decorating kits. No regrets. This saved us time and the effort. We had 6 other girls attending and bought 2 kits with a total of 32 cookies.
I sorted out the decorations from the kits plus some extra candies into condiment cups. This gave each girl her own to use and I was hoping would make it a little less germy in case anyone licked fingers during their fun.
The group did have to share icing tubes. We had 8 from the cookie decorating kits (2 each of red, green, black, and white). I also purchased 2 additional white cookie icing tubes to be sure there was plenty to go around.
Table Setting
Ideally, we were hoping to set the girls up on our porch. With the Eze-Breeze windows and space heater, we use it quite frequently even in cooler months. It was a tad too chilly I thought for the icing. I was worried that would get too firm. Instead, we opted for the round table in our kitchen.
I pulled away the chairs and covered it in a plastic red tablecloth. It worked perfectly for the 7 girls to gather around and reach their decorations plus the tubes of icing.
We used oval paper plates we found on sale when buying the cookie decorating kits. Each place also had a plastic knife to use for spreading icing on the cookies and 3 containers with their various candies for decorating.
Completed Cookies
The girls had a great time decorating their cookies. Some had a little icing. Some had a lot. Some had sprinkles and candies galore. Some had none. Each was fun and perfect in its own way.
What they didn’t eat, they were able to take home to enjoy later or share with their family. We simply slipped the paper plate with cookies inside a 2.5 gallon storage bag and sealed shut. Easy to carry home and no worries about spilled sugar or candies in their cars.
After everyone left, we removed the larger items for trash. Then pulled up the tablecloth bringing up the sides to capture in the mess. A quick sweep and our kitchen was ready for dinner. Truly one of the easiest set up and clean up parties we’ve ever had. We hope our tips help you to have a fun and stress free cookie decorating party as well.
