The Cookie Exchange – A Sweet Celebration of the Season

One of the best ways to celebrate the holidays is to find fun ways to gather friends and family. One idea to do just that is to host a cookie exchange. It's a wonderful and rewarding way to bring together everyone you know who has a (potentially unrequited) interest in creative baking.

Cookies, at their core, are the simplest little creations: delicious, portable sweets with so many varieties that everyone can find something to love. A cookie exchange is simply a party which celebrates the fun behind cookies!

Cookie exchanges can be as simple or complex as you want. My favorite way to host a cookie exchange is to set it up around a coffee morning.  In this scenario, the host provides coffee, tea and cookie-display space. Then she or he invites friends and family to bring a couple dozen of their best, most creative cookies to share. This is when everyone’s hidden baking talents come alive.

Every person invited brings a dozen (or more) cookies which they have baked, bought or decorated and when you have a room full of people and their cookie creations, everyone takes turns filling empty boxes with different kinds of cookies. As a guest, you arrive with a dozen of the same kind of cookies and leave with a pile of variety.

It doesn’t have to be a formal affair. In fact, the more casual and comfortable, the better the cookies taste!

Cookies exchanges give us a way to reconnect with special people and as a bonus, everyone leaves with a variety of delicious treats and in some cases new recipes to try.

For ideas you can always check out Pinterest or one of a dozen other blogs dedicated to the topic.

Happy holidays!


Written by Stephanie Sandoval. Stephanie is FOCUS' Magazine Editor.


Should you wish to share your expat experiences in the UK, please contact us: office@focus-info.org

London Legal Quarters

As an expat living in London I love to explore what this incredible city has to offer. With a group of like-minded friends in the last few weeks we have ventured into London’s legal quarters.

Located near Aldwich, on the western border of the City of London, the Inns of Court represent the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. Since the 14th Century all barristers must belong to one of the four Inns where they receive training and support for their profession.

What impressed me the most is the sense of stepping back in time  these cobbled lanes, tucked away gardens and tranquil squares offer. Tradition and formality permeates the air and the magnificent Middle Temple Hall represents a unique example of Elizabethan London with its striking double-hammer beam roof which was completed in 1573 and the stained glass windows that were miraculously saved during the blitz in WWII.

Temple Church is a hidden jewel between the Inns built by the Knights Templar, the monks order that was protecting the pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem in the 12th Century. Its carved stone doorways are original from the 11 hundreds. I was so pleased to finally be able to visit it as I have tried a few times in the past but always found it locked. Music is a big part of the church life with a rich programme of organ recitals  and choir concerts. I will definitely go back to experience this music.
 

Our last stop was a tour of the Royal Courts of Justice: our guide was fantastic and took us into a court room where she presented us with the history of the building and the activities run by the Courts. We were able to sit on the barrister benches, the witness stand and in the jury box. Walking around we met barristers and judges dressed in their gowns and wigs; the horsehair wigs and coulourful robes worn by judges can be traced back to medieval times but are now part of the tradition an still worn these days.

There is always something new to discover in London: step out and discover a treasure of your own!



Written by Paola Longobardi. Paola is Resource Manager at FOCUS.


Should you wish to share your expat experiences in the UK, please contact us: office@focus-info.org