Drop In & Decorate

November 13, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate | 6 Comments

Hi Folks:

I’ve mentioned Drop In & Decorate®, the cookies-for-donation event founded by Lydia of The Perfect Pantry, many times before and it’s time for me to mention it again.

It’s so exciting for me to know that this fun and worthwhile event continues to spread across the 50 states and Canada and it’s about to start again for the holiday season.

Here is what Lydia writes about Drop In & Decorate®:

We’re based in Rhode Island. This will be the 8th year of cookies-for-donation in my kitchen. We are year-round, not just at the holidays. But holidays are a great time to get people together.

I’m not a baker – in fact, I’m baking-challenged! So, really, anyone can do this.

There’s a free guide with everything you need to know to host your own party, download on our web side (www.dropinanddecorate.org)

Before the end of this year, the 10,000th cookie will be decorated and donated. Where???

December 4 is National Cookie Day.

Cookies make people smile, and bring a bit of happiness to people in difficult circumstances.

If you’re interested in this cookie donation and would like to participate, here’s how:

The idea behind Drop In & Decorate® is simple: bake some cookies; gather a group of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, your worship group or book group to decorate the cookies together; donate the cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community.

It’s a simple idea in a complicated world, and something anyone can do.

If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product — including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour — to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And we’ll include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, while our supply lasts.

Write to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com for more info on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.

So, how about joining in on the fun of making others feel good?

Paz

I Liked it! I Really Liked It!

May 10, 2009 | Filed Under Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Herbs, Sweet Potatoes | 30 Comments

Sweet potatoes! Simply tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt (or Veg-it), and chopped fresh herbs like Oregano, Marjoram, Rosemary and Thyme. Roasted at about 375°F till cooked and a little caramelized. And Viola! Ready for me to enjoy. I loved it!

I never liked sweet potatoes. While I found sweet potato pie okay (a little too sweet for me), I never cared for it. In general, I hated it, especially when it was served at Thanksgiving meals. Hated it. Okay, maybe I should say I never liked the way they were prepared.

Well, I finally liked this dish, based on a suggestion from Christine Cooks. Yay! I liked that it was simple to make. The taste was flavorful and enhanced by the fresh herbs. A really nice meal. Sweet potatoes will now be on my eating list.

A while ago, I mentioned that Lydia of The Perfect Pantry was looking for people to host the Drop In & Decorate® holiday event, where you and your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers (everyone/anyone) get together and decorate cookies (like a cookie-decorating party) then donate the cookies to places serving people in difficult circumstances during the holiday season — places like an emergency shelter, local food pantry, senior center. It’s started and been really successful so far. If you have time, you can read an update about it and see fun photos here.

Have a good week, all.

Paz

Help Donate 1,000 Cookies for Mother’s Day…

April 18, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate | 9 Comments

… and have fun in the process.

Wonderful Lydia of The Perfect Pantry, founder of Drop In & Decorate® is asking for our help to participate in the latest Drop In & Decorate® holiday event.

Drop In & Decorate® is a fun event where you and your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers (everyone/anyone) get together and decorate cookies (like a cookie-decorating party) then you donate the cookies to places serving people in difficult circumstances during the holiday season — like an emergency shelter, local food pantry, senior center.

Lydia has organized a Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® Mothers Day Celebration, which will take place from May 1-10, 2009. Her goal is to donate 1,000 cookies to agencies across the country.

For example, Lydia is hosting her own decorating party and will donate the cookies to Lucy’s Hearth, SSTARbirth, and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

She writes that "You, too, can honor moms everywhere by hosting (or helping to organize) your own cookie decorating party, with your friends, family, co-workers or faith group. We’ll write about all of the Mothers Day events (and link to your blog) on our site."

The Drop In & Decorate® organization will also give a prize to the host who donates the most cookies. The prize package includes free coupons for organic ready-to-bake cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co.

If you’d like to participate in this Cookies-for-Donation event, contact Lydia:

Lydia AT dropinanddecorate DOT org

She’ll send you more info on how to host your own cookies-for-donation event. In the meantime, she’s passed along some responses to Frequently Asked Questions.

Thanks for your help!

Paz

Ed. Note: Fourteen different Mother’s Day events have started already. You can read about it here.

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Mothers Day Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® Cookies for Donation

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I take part in the Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® event?

It’s easy — your party can be big, or just you and your kids, or a couple of friends. Pick a date between May 1-10. Bake cookies ahead of time (or ask people to bring baked cookies). Invite a few friends over to decorate, or invite your entire neighborhood to join in. Then wrap your cookies, and deliver to a local agency or shelter.

Where do I donate the cookies?

To your local food pantry, Ronald McDonald House, senior center, homeless shelter, or domestic abuse shelter. For Mother’s Day, why not look for an agency serving women and children? If you don’t know of an agency to take your cookies, we’ll help you find a recipient.

Is there a prize for whoever donates the most cookies to their agency?

Yes! Besides the warm feelings that come from giving a gift of kindness, Drop In & Decorate has a special prize pack for the host whose event donates the most cookies to their designated agency: A reuseable canvas shopping bag, three large cookie cutters, and 5 coupons for free ready-to-bake organic cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co. — enough to bake 120 cookies! Just let us know that you’re planning an event; then, send us the name of your recipient agency, the number of decorated cookies you donated, and photos to share on our site at www.dropinanddecorate.org.

How much does a party cost?

If you already have the ingredients for your favorite type of sugar cookie in your pantry, the party is absolutely free! If you’d like to purchase supplies similar to those used at the flagship event, download our "host your own cookie decorating party" brochure for supplies and sources.

Can I use your logo for my event?

Yes! Send me an email, and I’ll send you a JPG.

Good News: Drop In & Decorate

December 6, 2008 | Filed Under Announcements, Baking, Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate | 5 Comments

Some news I wanted to share with you:

Lydia of The Perfect Pantry is also the founder of Drop In & Decorate, a special cookie event. I mentioned Drop In & Decorate last year. It started out as a holiday event and has grown bigger. It’s a fun time where you bake cookies and then invite your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers (everyone/anyone) to help decorate the cookies. It’s like a cookie-decorating party. Next, you donate the cookies (to places like a shelter or food pantry, etc…). This is not only a fun event in which to participate, it’s also worthwhile.

Check out Lydia’s site, Drop In & Decorate. You’ll find cookie recipes, photos, tips on how to host a cookie-decorating party, where to donate your cookies and more.

New York Monday #101: Flat Stanley in New York City!

December 17, 2007 | Filed Under Books, Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate, New York Monday | 13 Comments

Flat Stanley in the subway station. I think riding the subway was his favorite thing to do.

New York, New York —
It’s a helluva of a town,
The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down.
The People ride in a hole in the ground.
New York, New York —
It’s a helluva of a town.

Lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph Green

Leonard Bernstein’s musical, On the Town

Fellow blogger, Kelly of Ms. ABC Mom is a school teacher. Her students are participating in interesting and fun event that involves a book character called Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley is a normal boy who, one day, wakes up flat as a pancake (a bulletin board fell on him). He becomes four feet tall, a foot wide and half and inch thick. Flat Stanley takes advantage of this predicament and is able to do a lot of things no one else can do. He can slip in between things and go places easily. For example, he can slide under a closed door or narrow metal grating. Instead of worrying about paying expensive airfare to travel, he can fold himself and fit into an envelope, and put in the mail. Flat Stanley has several adventures.

The students in Kelly’s class made Flat Stanleys and sent them out to people all over the United States and world. The person who receives Flat Stanley is asked to take him around and then send him back to the class with a report (and photos if possible) about the places he’s visited.

As Flat Stanley’s host, I had lots of fun showing him around town. So easy to travel with, he slipped into my book and we took the subway. I think he liked riding the subway best. He didn’t want to get out of the subway car and go upstairs. He wanted to keep riding the train.

The photos here shows a few places that Flat Stanley visited. This was fun.

On another note, a few weeks ago, I posted an annoucement about Lydia’s Drop In and Decorate event. Many people have participated. Lydia had a record number of people (85!) stop by her kitchen to decorate cookies, which were sent out to two food pantries and six shelters for domestic abuse victims. Wow! Looks like it was a lot of fun and many people are going to be happy reaping the benefits of all the volunteers efforts. Go have a look at some of the cookies they decorated here. Great job Lydia and all! It’s not too late to participate. You can read about how to get involved here.

Paz