How to Throw a Tasty and Tuneful Cookie Swap

By Tara Swords

If you plan to bake for the holidays, here's the deal: You can spend a week in the kitchen whipping up a dozen varieties of cookies, or you can spend one evening baking one kind. Either way, you can end up with a spread to rival a bakery's. How? A cookie swap.

Swaps, in which a group of friends gathers to share homemade cookies and take home some of everyone else's goods, have been around for decades. And there's a practicality to them that makes them especially timely this year.

"Everybody is so worried about money," says Robin Olson, a Gaithersburg resident and author of "The How to Host a Cookie Exchange Handbook." "With the economic outlook of the country now, exchanges make sense because you get to pool your resources."

Just because swaps are practical doesn't mean they can't be memorable. Here's how to set up a sweet swap that your guests won't soon forget. (In fact, they might bug you to host again next year!)

Early enough for people to squeeze it into their calendars, but close enough to the holidays to make sure the cookies stay fresh.

Everybody does it differently, but most swap rules aim to ensure equal effort and return. For example, Olson outlaws commoners such as chocolate chip cookies at her swaps. And don't even think about showing up with a no-bake treat.

"It makes a level playing field," Olson says. "Gingerbread cookies take two whole evenings to make. Those women don't want to go home with something they know somebody whipped together in five minutes," such as chocolate-covered pretzels.

State the rules in your invitation, and ask for RSVPs to include cookie type to prevent duplication. For a party of up to eight people, guests can bring one dozen cookies for each guest. For a larger party, request six dozen from each person. Require everyone to take equal amounts of each cookie.

Would you believe "anything but cookies"?

"Everybody is sick of cookies by the time they get to my house," Olson says. "They want the hors d'oeuvres."

As an antidote to the holiday junk food deluge, offer lighter fare. Con sider avoiding carbohydrates altogether to make up for the carb overload that each guest will take home, suggests Judy Caplan, author of "GoBeFull: Eight Keys to a Healthy Lifestyle" and a registered dietician who practices in Reston. Caplan's suggestions:

· Sliced turkey wrapped around an asparagus spear and red pepper slice

· Tomato slices with fresh basil

· Edamame

· Vegetables with spinach-artichoke dip

· Spinach, tomato and onion frittata topped with salsa and sliced avocado

Eggnog and mulled cider are safe bets, but your guests might have more fun sampling a collection of holiday beers.

Gouden Carolus Noel, a Belgian beer, is a good all-around holiday brew, says Bill Catron, beer sommelier at Brasserie Beck in the District.

"Hands down, one of the best beers known to man," Catron says. "It's sweet to the nose and has the aromas of holiday cookies." (Careful, though: Gouden Carolus Noel is a whopping 10.5 percent alcohol.)

Catron says a good American brew is Anchor Brewing Co.'s Christmas Ale. "It has a lot of pine-needle flavors and lot of espresso going on as well," he says.

Some more of Catron's favorites:

· Noel des Geants (from Brasserie des Geants): "It's amber in color and also has hints of toffee and some darker fruits, like plum."

· Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale (Anderson Valley Brewing Co.): "It has a lot of vanilla in it. It's probably one of God's gifts to man."

· The Mad Elf Holiday Ale (Troegs Brewing Co.): "It has a warming sensation, like a liquor."

· Avec les Bons Voeux (Brasserie Dupont): "It's a golden color, which is a departure from Belgian seasonal beers. Very spicy with coriander, a hint of apple and a hint of caramel."

Avoid the temptation to toss a potted poinsettia on the table and call it a centerpiece. Instead, use poinsettias as cut flowers in an arrangement, says Dave Millspaugh, design director at Ultra Violet Flowers in Georgetown.

"It's an immediate starter of conversation," Millspaugh says. "It's a traditional thing people used to do in the 1950s." One tip: Seal each cut by holding the stem over an open flame for a few seconds.

For another take on the traditional red-and-green scheme, Millspaugh suggests cymbidium orchids, a favorite he says he always takes home to his mother. "They come in shades of nice bright green and cranberry," he says. And they last: "You're getting all the way through New Year's with them."

If you want to get away from red and green, you can't go wrong with white. Elegant paperwhites bloom this time of year, and they bring fresh snow to mind. Plus, they smell fantastic.

Internet radio station WOXY.com hosts an all-holiday-music broadcast full of tracks from such modern artists as Yo La Tengo ("It's Christmas Time"), Sufjan Stevens ("We're Goin' to the Country!") and Goldfrapp ("Winter Wonderland"). You'll get plenty of old-school artists, too: Marvin Gaye ("Purple Snowflakes"), Ella Fitzgerald ("Santa Claus Got Stuck in My Chimney") and Louis Armstrong ("Cool Yule").

But if your guests won't appreciate the humor in Sarah Silverman's "Give the Jew Girl Toys" or the grittiness of William S. Burroughs reading his short story "The Junky's Christmas," listen to the WOXY Holiday Mixer a week before the big day, buy your favorites and create your own playlist