Fall Favorites Basket Exchange Party

Three years ago, my very best friend had the most ingenious idea for a autumn inspired party. Both she and I share a love of this time of year, but living in Arizona didn't offer much in the way of an autumn atmosphere. So she decided to create it and have a party celebrating it. When I moved to Minnesota, I decided to carry on the tradition and held my first Fall Favorites Basket Exchange Party. Now, I'm hosting my second one in just two weeks and I can't wait.

If you want to host one of your own, now is the perfect time to get it put together...before all the other chaos of the season begins.

Invite your guests to bring a basket filled with things that they love about autumn. This basket and all its contents will be given away.

Some ideas of what to fill a basket with:

• Apple cider
• Fall vegetables
• Scented candles
• Halloween candy
• A good book
• Hot chocolate mixes
• Cookie mixes
• Baked goods
• Caramels or toffees
• A mug
• A comfy pair of socks
• Fall decorations
• Halloween decorations
• Recipes
• Cookie cutters
• A small plant
• A fall inspired magazine

That is a short list and shouldn't hinder anyone's creativity. Just encourage your guests (and yourself) to ask "What do I absolutely love about this time of year?" and then come up with things that represent that. For me, I love the colors, smells, and tastes of this season. So my baskets are usually filled with caramel apples, apple cider, caramel and chocolate dipped pretzels, ginger cookies, a scented candle, and/or something red/orange/yellow.

People can bring their favorites in a traditional wicker basket, a reusable bag, a fabric box, a decorated box, a Halloween trick or treat bucket, whatever.

Then, at the party, after some good food and socializing, everyone shows what is in their basket and explains why they put it there. Once everyone has seen everyone's baskets, all the baskets go into large plastic or paper bags so you can't tell which is which and they're set on a table. Everyone is given a number and, starting with #1, each person gets to go to the table and pick a basket. They remove it from the bag so everyone can see. #2 can either take that basket or take a new one from the table. The turns continue until all the baskets are gone. If someone steals a basket from someone else, the original person can either steal from someone else (you cannot take back the basket that was just taken from you) or take from the table. Once a basket has been in three hands (so the first person who chose it, the person who stole it from them, and then the person who stole it from them), it is considered "dead" and whoever has it, gets it. No one else can steal it.

Besides the good food and company, the best part is that everyone goes home with someone else's basket, filled with other reasons to love the season.