It's My Party and I'll Swap If I Want To....

I hosted my First Ever Annual Swap this past Saturday and, Boy Howdy, did we have fun!  We were 18 altogether and my lil ol' house stood up to the test just fine.  Didn't even bat an eyelash.  We dispersed the goods between two rooms where I had tables set up.  I followed the steps that The Nester laid out here and asked that everyone contribute an appetizer OR dessert to share.  Each person brought 2-3 items to swap(or more if they wanted it GONE!) 

Those pretty toile boxes looked right at home in their surroundings and, so, are mine now:)

We drew numbers and went through the tables in groups of four at a time.  There was some nail-biting and "OH! I wanted that!" exclamations, but we all left with things that we could use in our homes.  We had TWO organized rounds.  So, after the first round of going in order, we all went again but started from the middle.  (i.e. numbers 9-12 started the 2nd round)

The ladies patiently waiting for their turns again.(oh...and changing dirty diapers:):)

This way we all got to go through twice and make it as fair as possible.  Whatever was left at the end was up for grabs and the rest we packed into my car and donated.  I am already planning when I can host another one and trying to get others to host one so I can come to theirs!  The highlights of the day were:

Natasha and Kara (my sister) 

 

Jennifer and Stacy...don't hate me! It's the only photo I had of the outdoors:)

Seeing friends I had not seen in years!  Okay, not my sister, but old friends from high school!  It was so fun to have such a mix of people...those from the good ol' days and new friends too.

 This photo doesn't do it justice...ladies know how to bring the food!

THE FOOD!  Amy's pasta salad was the hit of the party... I wish I had a close up so you could see the sun-dried tomatoes and stuffed green olives.  Yummy!

Andrea with her loot.

Kara trying to steal my pillow...heehee.

 Stacy and Helena....so glad Helena got the duvet and shams I had for swapping!

Leaving with decor you can use in your house that you swapped for FREE!  I loved the fact that we had so many women from different age groups and decorating styles and still everyone went home happy...either that or they were lying to me;)  Either way I HIGHLY recommend hosting your own swap.  I was always a big fan of in-home parties and tried to host one every Fall.  With a swap, you have zero pressure to buy anything and you get the gift of giving something you no longer had a use for, but someone else certainly does!

**Being the host I completely dropped the ball on getting photos of everyone....bummer.  So, next swap I will put someone else in charge of that:)