Ho, ho, ho! It’s cookie time. It’s Santa visit time! It’s neighborhood Christmas cookie bake off time! Today, I’m sharing all the details about our neighborhood Santa visit that we organized last year as a special element to our neighborhood cookie bake off! A Christmas cookie contest in the neighborhood is a perfect event to bring everyone together in a low-key way.
In my neighborhood, a few other ladies and I plan neighborhood events from time to time. This is the first time we have planned a neighborhood Santa visit and holiday dessert contest, and it was such a hit! It was a genius idea to couple Santa’s visit with a neighborhood Christmas cookie bake off. The two events go together perfectly since Santa goes where the cookies are!
Now, you don’t necessarily have to plan the two events together. Santa visits homes all around the world with no cookie contests! And you could easily plan just the cookie contest with no Santa visit.
Schedule a Cookies with Santa Visit Early on Santa’s Calendar
It is no joke that not all Santa’s are created equal. If you want to secure the best Santa for your Santa Claus visit, you have to hit the ground running early – even if that means it’s 90 degrees outside!
We booked our Santa in early September. But that was only because he had a cancellation. Our preferred Santa Claus actually books up many slots for the next Christmas season before Valentine’s Day! It’s wild!
Over the years, my family has been invited to various home visit with Santa Pete at friends’ home parties. It has always been a great time. This year, we felt lucky to get our own Santa neighborhood visit set on Santa Pete’s calendar!
See for yourself! This man is the real deal!
More Reasons to Plan Early
- Some people may plan their annual visit with Santa early so the sooner you let your friends/neighbors know of your intentions, the better.
- Have you ever looked at your own December calendar?! It fills fast!
- People may feel relieved to have a reason to skip the long lines at the malls or other community areas to see Santa Claus. The sooner you let them know they will have other another opportunity, the better.
What Time to Plan a Santa House Visit
Some of the Santa visits we have attended over the years have been during the day while others have been at night. The parties at night heavily depend on an indoor location since it is typically chilly at night. In our area, the day temperatures in December are not usually too cold. Children and adults can bundle up and get by just fine usually. But some regions may be too cold during the day or the night. The main thing we have to worry about in our area is rain.
For our neighborhood Christmas event, we chose a 1:30 time slot for Santa’s visit on the first Saturday of December. While the party started at 1:30 p.m. and went until 3 p.m., Santa was with us from 1:30 until 2:30. We booked him for one hour.
Where to Host a Santa Visit for the Neighborhood
Some neighborhoods have an indoor venue to rent for social functions. Others may have a covered pavillion that residents can use. Our neighborhood has no such thing. Therefore, someone has to host such events at their home or in their front yard or backyard.
We hosted the event in our driveway and in the backyard on the patio. We had luck on our side with weather. To be honest, it wound up raining earlier in the day, and I got super panicked about the situation. Luckily, the rain stopped and the rest of the day was cloudy (which is actually helpful for pictures) with no rain.
Hosting that many adults and children inside the home didn’t seem like an option.
Decorating for a Home Visit from Santa
You know how when you go see Santa at the mall or at any type of Christmas event, he is always seated in a special chair or otherwise decorated area? You need to set up a special spot for him at home, too!
We decided with cold/flu season upon us, it was best to use the open-air back porch/patio area. But this space needed some holiday cheer. So out came the plaid pillows, garland, live fir trees in small buckets, for just a little holiday decor. We could have used the garage, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as cute and festive as my decorated back patio.
Santa Pete had a few requests of his own before he arrived. One was that he needed to be able to park close to the party venue. And if it was raining, he would prefer covered parking. This was most likely to keep Santa from arriving soaking wet.
He also requested the hosts have some small treats prepared for him to hand out. We actually had candy canes in a tin can right behind him on the table (which you can see below in the photos). In all the excitement, we forgot to hand Santa the can! In hindsight, the can should have been waiting for him on the inside of the house so he had it with him when he entered the porch.
Santa’s Arrival
The parents ushered all the children into the backyard about five minutes before Santa’s arrival. It was a bit tricky keeping them corralled because some kids were decked in there cute holiday attire and wanted to get on the trampoline and the swings – which were wet from the rain that briefly came through hours before the event.
Once all children were in the backyard, my husband brought Santa through the front door of the house. They walked through the house onto the back patio. The children were so excited to see him!
Santa Pete is so kind and gentle with children. He engages the kids in real talk so the interactions and photos appear so natural. He pays attention to the kids clothing when they sit and helps straighten out pulled pants legs, sliding hair bows, etc. He is so wonderful with little ones!
All the children enjoyed their time with Santa Pete during our neighborhood Santa visit! The event was a fun way to kick off the holiday season!
Organizing the Holiday Cookie Contest
The Christmas cookie bake off is a simple event that does involve much prep! And…your event does not have to be a cookie contest. You could easily modify your neighborhood bake off to be a general dessert contest.
Preparing for the Christmas Cookie Contest
- About a month ahead of the event, send out the first event announcement. We sent out the first announcement on our neighborhood Facebook page to let everyone know we were planning a Christmas cookie bake off and Santa visit with the date. This way, people could start thinking about which cookies they would like to make. If your neighborhood does not have its own Facebook page, you could easily send flyers around, text message chains, etc.
- Select a few cookie-loving neighbors to be judges. We asked three well-known people around the neighborhood to judge. I suggest selecting people in the neighborhood who will likely not have a family member entering the contest. If you know Thelma on the corner will likely enter her famous chocolate chip cookies in the contest, it’s best to not ask her husband to be a judge.
- Two weeks ahead of the event, send another Facebook announcement to remind people. This announcement can include the dessert contest rules and dessert contest categories. (See my free download below of the ones I made for our neighborhood.) One of the ladies helping with the event also passed small paper announcements around the neighborhood.
- Send one last announcement a few days before the event. Encourage people to bring their items in non-labeled cookie trays or containers. No names should be visible on the trays.
- Gather prizes to gift the winners.
Download my free Cookies with Santa announcement graphic and cookie contest categories graphic!
On the Day of the Christmas Cookie Bake Off
- Set up a cute cookie station for people to place their cookies on when they arrive to the event. Our table was out on the driveway which is where most people mingled during the event.
- Label each cookie tray with an index card or sticky note and a number. We used little chalkboards that I happened to have already.
- At the beginning of the event, hand the judges one cookie bake off score sheet each. (Download my free cookie bake off score sheet as seen below!) Allow them time to taste the cookies and mark their rubrics. The score cards should tell the judges how to judge a bake off contest in a super simple way.
- Collect the baking contest score sheets and allow all party guests to enjoy the cookies.
- Near the end of the party, make an announcement declaring the cookie contest winners. Hand out prizes. Our prizes were donated from our event co-organizer who happens to own a local gift shop.
Download the free bake off score sheets I made!
Note, I included a pie bake off score sheet, a cookie bake off score sheet – to be used any time of the year, a Christmas cookie bake off score sheet, a cake bake off score sheet, and a general dessert bake off score sheet! Whew! No matter what type of bake off you are planning, I’ve got you covered on the baking contest score sheet situation! All five versions follow the same simple scoring system. Each dessert entry needs to be assigned a number, and the judge simply writes in the number associated with his/her favorite entry per category.
Once scoring is over, the cookies are up for grabs!
Other Things to Include at a Christmas Cookie Bake Off
We included a hot cocoa station at our cookie bake off event.
We also included small bags of popcorn to add a bit of savory to all the sweet. A cute sign on the table with some mini bags of popcorn tied the two event components – Santa’s visit and the party – together!
Additionally, we have to realize that many people do not bake but may still want to attend the event for the social aspect. In order to not exclude anyone, we did make mention in our Facebook post announcements that all neighbors were welcome – even if they were not entering the cookie bake off. We simply asked that they bring some type of treat to share – store-bought dessert or Christmas candy, etc.
Some people brought crackers and cheese, some brought store-bought chocolate covered pretzels, etc.
Treat Santa to Cookies
Don’t forget to give Santa time to step away from the kids and enjoy some cookies himself! And it’s nice to let him take a plate home for Mrs. Claus!
More Holiday Posts from Planted in Arkansas
Host a Neighborhood Cookies with Santa Visit
Christmas Desserts for the Classroom
Decorating with Plants on the Christmas Table
Christmas Dress Up Days – Themes and Ideas
Black and White Christmas Tour
Free McDonald’s Christmas Printable
Dirty Santa Ideas for the Classroom
Tips for Seeing Garvan Gardens Christmas Display
A Trip to Guess and Company Christmas Warehouse in Des Arc
Inspirational Christmas Displays from Guess and Company
Blue Christmas Decorations Ideas
Modern Blue and Red Christmas Decorations
Leave a Reply