A fun, budget-friendly reason to beat the winter lulls and gather for a party.  What could be better?!  A resulting freezer brimming with fresh homemade soups perfect for an easy dinner.  Soup Swaps are just like cookie swaps...bring the goods, leave with new goods and enjoy!  Here's the 411 on how to host your own soup swap:

• give your guests at least 2 weeks notice so they'll have plenty of time to get their soup on
• create a unique and functional invite by printing directly on our paper lunch bags
• in the lunch bag invite include 6 quart sized plastic deli containers as well as 6 'hello my name is' square labels for your guests to use
• consider including a half quart sized plastic deli container, brought to the swap unfrozen, to be used for soup shots...a little sampling if you will
• ask your guests to arrive with the soup frozen and clearly marked
• serve drinks, appetizers and snacks - keep it simple but plentiful
• soup shots in white nut and party cups
• gather your guests and first have everyone tell a little something about their soup and then draw numbers for soup picking order (make sure the drawing numbers equals the number of guests)
• go through your picking order until all the soup is gone
• soup swap favors - bread baked in small kraft mold placed in a large cello bag closed with brown and white twine, and soup crackers in glassine bags
• ask your guests to bring 2 or more cans of food to donate to a local charity

Gather, Garnish, Enjoy...and maybe add a little grilled cheese!