A better late than never post !

Every Christmas season our the Peas host a cookie party.  We have invited the same families the last three years and have seen several additions to those families each year.  It’s our way of seeing some of our friends at least once a year and let the kids have fun and get messy.  (ok the adults get pretty messy too LOL)  This year we had a few cancellations so we were able to invite a new family to join in and they had a blast I mean who doesn’t love cookies right??

Our invites always include the BYORP rule, that’s right bring your own rolling-pin (-:

I whip up the white icing and Dad of two peas always mixes the colors the girls love watching him.

Phoebe was just wanting to eat it!

A little socialization before we dive in…….

First some healthy snacks make sure the girl’s hair is out of their faces…….

some giggles………..

some sanitizer…………..

Finally!!  So how we work this party is simple, we always get the pre-made dough and give the kids their own roll.  They get wax paper, plenty of flour and we always have tons of cookie cutters.

This year was the most exciting for Phoebe because she could do almost all of it by herself.

Pyper my little perfectionist (-;

Aunt Lisa to the rescue, last year they were attached at the hip this year Lisa was able to watch, enjoy and even make some of her own cookies.

Almost everyone is one picture !

I love Phoebe’s mini rolling-pin it’s the perfect size for those teeny hands!

As the kids got their cookies cut out Chad was baking as fast as he could to keep up…..

And let’s not forget REAL MEN BAKE!

Quick clean up by rolling the plastic table-cloth and it was time for a pizza break while the cookies get finished baking and cooling we ate dinner…

One last table-cloth change and on to the icing!! We use little cheese spreaders for the icing since the little hands can hold them better.

She was so proud to ice her first cookie all by herself….

Pyper was very serious about her cookie decorating….

We always let the kids eat the first one hey  decorate (-: that’s the best part!

YUM!!! Pyper is an old pro she loves her cookie parties (-:

Phoebe sharing decorating tips with Dena …………

OHHH sneaking more icing in the mouth I see…..

Lisa made a cookie tree with some cookie cutters that she brought over she did great!

More icing….. WHAT! no wonder she was awake all night!

Py wondering where she would put the rest of the cookies, she ran out of room in her tins.  We made so many this year we filled 8 tins and 4 plastic cookie holders.

My biggest joy is getting the take homes ready for the kids this year I was able to find these cute gingerbread train baskets from Target, all the other gingerbread themed things were from Oriental Trading Company.

We try to get something different ever year for the families to take their cookies home this year JoAnne Fabric’s had these and they were awesome very deep to fits lots of cookies.

Cookie also always give each of the kids their own “Riley Girl’s XX Annual Cookie Party” ornament we hang them on the tree and let them look for them to take home.

And there you have it The Riley Girl’s 4th Annual Cookie Party…..we can’t wait until next year!