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There’s nothing better than a steaming cup of soup on a cold winter’s day. Ok maybe there is. How about sharing it with a friend?

Better yet, how about your friend sharing his or her soup with you? How about a bunch of friends and neighbors sharing their favorite soup recipes with each other and enjoying their company over several different samples of soup?

A soup swap can be done any time of the year but may hold more appeal in the colder months. It can be done as a simple lunch or an elaborate full-course dinner. Decide on the time of day, and create a guest list based on which neighbors you know will be available at the hour you plan to hold your party.

Write up an invitation explaining that each guest will need to bring a favorite soup recipe and a jar of at least four servings – 4 or 5 cups – of that soup. Be sure to include on the invitation your address, phone number, and an RSVP date.

On the day of the party, set out drinks, bowls, spoons, napkins, and bread or crackers for soup dipping. As guests arrive, give each person a number from one to the highest number of guests who attend. Have guests place their jars of soup on a table or countertop where everyone can see them. Also, have recipes with the names of the soup clearly displayed near each soup container.

Ask guests to sit in a circle to play Soup Swap, which is similar to a white elephant gift exchange. Explain that the person who has number one will go first and can select a soup of choice. After selecting a soup, the person sits down with it. Then the person with number two takes a turn picking a soup; this person can either choose a new soup or can take the first soup that was chosen. If Number Two chooses a new soup, then it is Number Three’s turn. If Number Two takes the soup of Number One, Number One has to pick a new soup. Number Three can pick either Number One or Two’s soup or pick a new soup. The game continues this way until the last person’s turn. The person with the last number can pick any soup he or she wants from the group. If the person chooses a soup other than the last soup remaining, the person he or she took the soup from has to take the last unclaimed jar of soup.

Helpful hint: For smaller groups of only three or four guests, the soup swap game may not be as fun. In this case, have the group stand in a circle with their soup, and ask them to pass their soup one person to the left.

Instant Intentions

Make a bunch of mini loaves of bread for each guest to take home with their soup. Attach a small card letting your neighbors know you are glad to be their neighbor, and write out an encouraging Scripture such as, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit”(Romans 15:13).