How to Host A Pick Up Your Girl Scout Cookies Party

I had an odd idea the other day. I've decided to host a Pick Up Your Cookies party.

My little one is now a Daisy Scout. She sold Girl Scout cookies for the first time this month. 

Or I should say I sold Girl Scout Cookies?  Seriously, it was a bit of a nuisance walking the neighborhood with my daughter taking orders, bugging friends to buy cookies, sending order forms to work with my husband and knowing that if we don't clear all of the inventory we'll be sitting behind a cookie booth for 3 hours hassling shoppers outside the local Wal-Mart.

The Girl Scout Council makes a big hoo-ha about this being a business for the girls, by the girls, but we all know the truth. The truth is that if Little Brownie Bakers were a for-profit company it would be the third largest cookie company in America. 

The scouts' seasonal sales totaled $785 million last year, making it No. 3 in the industry.

Little Brownie Bakers is a division of Keebler, which is owned by Kellogg, so it really isn't a non-profit at all. 

Girls are required to sell 36 boxes of cookies at between $3.50-5.00 a box to receive the Cookie Sales Patch. Hmm.... a quota system dictated by the Girl Scout Council that only slightly masks Keebler's child labor sales force. 

And how much of each sale does your local troop receive? According to the Girl Scouts "the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops... is approximately 10-20 percent of the retail price. "

So my daughter's troop will receive 35 cents for each box of cookies that she sold. She sold 25 boxes so her troop will earn $9 from her efforts. However, I spent $21 on 6 boxes of cookies and $9 for materials to construct the Cookie Booth. Next year I'll skip the selling and donate $30 directly to her troop. 

This year, however, I'm stuck. Stuck with 6 boxes of cookies. 

Don't get me wrong I love Girl Scouts. And I love Girl Scout Cookies. I just don't buy the hype that the girls benefit from the sales process or the proceeds of the sale. 

Okay - back to party mode!  It will be a family-friendly party with games and treats. Here's my plan. I consider it Tastefully Simple meets Little Brownie Bakers. 

• First, invite everyone who ordered cookies to a party. Have their cookies ready for pick up. This eliminates the nuisance of driving around and chasing down people to deliver cookies. 
• Second, invite friends who didn't order cookies. 
• Third, use my own supply of cookies to prepare food for the party thus eliminating the temptation to eat an entire box of Thin Mints two weeks from now. Did you know a single Thin Mint has 40 calories? I've been known to eat a sleeve of 14 in one sitting. That's 560 calories - or a whopping 1,120 if I polish off the whole box!
• Fourth, use a pyramid of ribbon-wrapped boxes of cookie orders as a table centerpiece. (too subtle?)
• Last, sell the extra boxes of cookies to the slackers from the comfort of my own home. (Peer pressure works on adults.)

You will need 4-7 boxes of cookies to hold this party, plus other ingredients, paper goods and drinks.Depending on the number of guests you should be able to host for less than $50 -with a large part of that expense being the Girl Scout Cookies. You could co-host the party with other troop moms if you have the space for more guests. 

While it seems a little crazy to bake with already baked cookies, it's a way to introduce the cookies without just opening a few boxes and spreading the cookies out on a plate. It also allows you to stretch a limited number of cookies into a greater number of servings.

Our local Council is selling 6 flavors this season: the Big Five and a lemon cookie called Savannah Smiles. The best selling, most popular cookies (in order) are:

• Thin Mints
• Samoas
• Tagalongs
• DoSiDos
• Trefoils

My plan is to serve 1 chocolate dessert, 1 fruit dessert and one other dessert in bite-sized pieces or individual serving cups. I'll provide milk, coffee and tea along with  Girl Scout Cookie inspired desserts. The actual desserts will depend on which cookies we need to move. Some possibilities include:

• Thin Mint Cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with a Thin Mint on the bottom) or Thin Mint "Puppy Chow"  (basically Chex Muddy Buddy recipe with cookie bits)
• Samoa Five Minute Fudge - omit the nuts and stir in or top with crushed Samoas
• Tagalong Cupcakes (vanilla cupcakes with a Tagalong on the bottom) 
• Mini Trefoil No Bake Cheesecakes  - uses a Trefoil cookie for the crust
• Do Si Do Mini Banana Muffins Think Elvis' peanut butter and banana sandwiches
• Lemon Squares topped with crumbled Savannah Smiles 

I think we may need to push the extra Savannah Smiles so I might need a second lemon/fruit dessert - maybe a lemon meringue pie with a crust made from crushed cookies and butter similar to a graham cracker crust? or lemon blueberry tart with crumbled cookie topping?

I got ideas for games from a Crazy Cookie Party post by the Cadette troop of GSCNC. I'll have the kids play Hot Cookie and enter a Cookie Eating Contest. Winners will get small prizes (left over birthday party favors). You could use cookies or boxes of cookies as prizes if you have extras.

Hot Cookie is just Hot Potato with a box of Girl Scout cookies. For the cookie eating contest I'll place a cookie at the bottom of a disposable bowl then fill the bowl with whipped cream or Cool Whip. The kids will line up along the table , place their hands behind their backs and eat! The first one to get their cookie in their mouth wins.

Everyone can play the Guess the Cookie Game. To stick with the cookie theme, I'll fill a clear container with carefully counted pieces of Cookie Crisp cereal. You could use anything small like jellybeans, Goldfish crackers, etc. Each guest can write down a guess, The adult and the child who come closest to the number will each win a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Alternatively you can give the one winner the contents of the jar.

You could also play musical chairs, have a cookie walk or do a craft.  If it is a warm day we may do the Cookie Sheet Relay outside. 

I think this is a novel, fun way to distribute your Girl Scout Cookies. Your Girl Scout will get the pleasure of giving her cookies out as well as playing with friends and neighbors. Who doesn't need a little pick me up this time of year?