I recently hosted my first “Sunday Swap”, a trend I can finally get behind! If you haven’t seen the wave of market swaps on social media, let me give you a quick explanation… each guest brings a certain number of the same homemade item and then everyone goes home with that many different items. It’s like a free farmers market! You get to see the talents and creativity of your friends, and get to try new things, all while enjoying time with your girlfriends.
This Sunday Swap was in place of my monthly ladies craft nights that I host. I loved it so much, that I am hosting another swap nearer to Christmas time! I asked every guest to bring 10 of the same item and then we all went home with 10 different items. In addition to the e-vite, I sent a few lists I got off Pinterest that had ideas on what to make/bring. This list was just to get inspired, and not necessarily a list to choose from.
I did not ask what any of my guests what they were bringing, because I wanted to be surprised along with everyone else. And there were no duplicates at all! I sent the invites a month or so in advance to give everyone time to create.
I asked everyone to bring a dish to share and I provided the drinks. I always enjoy seeing what my friends bring for food to share at our monthly gatherings- everyone has such great ideas and recipes!
The Drinks
I served two cider drinks because I could not decide on one. I think they both turned out so good! The first recipe was a Sparkling Apple Cider. This was just two ingredients, with apple cider and cranberry sparkling water. The second drink was an Apple Ginger Fizz, and I think the more popular option. In a glass drink dispenser, I mixed apple cider, orange juice, and lime juice. Guests filled their glasses with this punch, and then topped it off with ginger beer. Both drinks were delicious with a shot of whiskey to make it a cocktail. I had apple slices for garnish, and a shallow dish of water and a shallow dish of a cinnamon sugar mixture so guests could rim their glasses with it. YUM!
If you want to print this drink menu, click HERE.
The Food
The Swap
I wanted the swap to kind of feel like you were shopping at a farmers market, so I set the table up in my backyard between these two trees. I made this burlap banner (that I will use every swap I host) using this affordable banner of Amazon, and cutting out letters from scrap fabric I already had. I just used little dabs of hot glue to adhere the fabric letters to the burlap. I recently got this taupe gingham tablecloth with this ruffled hem and I am obsessed! I think it worked perfectly for this party.
We were blessed with the most perfect weather! I am so happy I decided to host this when I did, a week later we had our first hard frost that wiped out half my garden, and we wouldn’t have been able to sit outside without a sweater.
If you want to use the labels I made that match the drink menu, click HERE to print them.
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So if you are considering hosting one of these swaps, I am here to encourage you to just do it! It does not have to elaborate, I think I kept this one pretty simple.
I have seen online where the host gifts personalized tote bags to shop with, or thrifted baskets for each guests with a sweet ribbon or bandana tied on… I love these ideas! I just had a tight budget, so I asked my guests to bring a basket to shop with.
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