The cheapest place I've found trays with covers is Sams Club , 4 trays and lids for 10.00 Well last year that was the price.

I say GO GO GO everyone. More power to you!!! I wish I had the time. I does make me remember back to a couple of years ago when my husband and I were talking and it was getting around the holidays. We go and visit relatives every year and my Aunt gives him a wonderful, heavy tin of cookies and candies like you all are talking about.

"Whatever you do...never get your Aunt mad at us," he told me.

I adore my Aunt so that's pretty easy to accomplish.

Who knows...if this thread keeps going I might have to make a few trays.

DH starting reading and now thinks that we should do the trays for family gifts this year as well. He says with the economy tankin' that a lot of the family won't be baking as much as they like and would appreciate it. Also, that SIL that hasn't learned how to boil water, she'll love us for it. (his poor brother)

I think that this is the right time to start planning everything. Getting the batches made and prepped ahead, purchasing the trays/baskets, ribbons, bows and wrap. If you get things lined out now, December will be smooth sailing. Right? I think I am on a sinking ship!

I LOVE Christmas cookies! I make so many varities every year. And no, it's not to early. I don't even sell Christmas cookies and I've all ready started planning. I make like 20 different cookies and my kids LOVE it...and so do my relatives!

I've done some sort of cookie/candy tray as gifts for years. It's a great way for me to share something I love with friends and family. One year my brother paid me to make fudge tins for his customers. I was able to get the aluminum foil pans with the clear snap on lid from the bakery department at Winn Dixie. Using a marshamllow creme fudge recipe, I made up 150 pounds of fudge, pouring the hot fudge into indiviual containers, and then wrote a holiday message in royal icing on the cooled fudge. A 9'x9" pan holds about 2 pounds of fudge.

OMG Indydebi, that is EXACTLY what my dad told me to do (mini smiley face cookies) so people could see what the cookies are like. Maybe he's not dumb after all

Bobwonderbuns, I make myself hungry. That's why I tried a new recipe last night---Chocolate Zucchini Bread & it was soooooo good. I had to send a loaf to school for my dd's snack or I would have eaten it all. I forgot to list Banana bread in my list as well!

Ok, I spoke with my mom and she's telling me the people at her work would REALLY go crazy for a platter of just cake truffles, all different flavors (she took a poll evidently) and there were just a few that still wanted cookie platters in addition to cake truffles. So I started thinking of some different flavors of cake truffles. I charge $5.00/doz for them normally so I thought I could have a tray of 24 and it would only be $10.00 and I thought of 6 different flavors to do, and there would be 4 of each flavor.

So I got to thinking, how would everyone tell them all apart.....so I made a little card like you find inside a box of chocolates that explains what each one is according to color (I know choc. are done by shape, but all mine are round lol). So I used the generic ol' paint program every pc comes with and made this, uploaded it to vista print and voila I have 250 "business cards" with this printed on the front being shipped to me as we speak and my total cost was $8.16, that was $2.49 to upload my own photo $0.00 for the actual cards, and $5.67 for shipping.

I plan to punch a hole in one corner and attach it to the wrapping on the platter with a ribbon. The backs are plain so I plan to attach a address label with all my info printed out on it to the backs of all the cards.

What do you think?

THe card is a good idea. I "color code" my cake truffles with different colors of icing on the top of the chocolate (pink for raspberry, light green for mint, etc.).

yeah, I've always done that too.....but at Christmas time generally it was always.......the red swirls are this flavor, the red drizzle are that flavor, the green swirl this flavor.

I realize that none of these color combos LOOK Christmasy, however since I have to get 250 cards (free or not I don't want them to go to waste), I figure I'll just add the red and green shreds and if I'm feeling extra festive I'll get some of the Christmas colored mini muffin papers for them.

I thought all the colors i chose kinda represented the flavors a bit, and with them not all being red and green I can use these cards anytime I send out an order of cake truffles, not just for the holidays.

Why not to share some cookie recipes??? I have the best recipe for "bizcochitos"... very popular here in New mexico...

I'd LOVE to see some recipes as well. I'm getting hungry just reading this thread!
Oh, what are cake truffles?

Just an idea for trays with lids, check out MrTakeOutBags.com

http://www.mrtakeoutbags.com/store/sabert-mozaik-trays.html

I will most likely be using these for my mixed platters, as they are very professional looking and the tray is nice enough for them to serve from.

Thank you so much for this link! Much appreciated!

You're very welcome! I'll probably be getting my boxes and tissue from them too, their prices are pretty good!

Oh WOW! bobwonderbuns, thank you that's very nice from you!!

ok, I just went to my local party store (mom and pop shop) and they have a clear cookie tray with a clear lid, they're about a 10" circle I would say and they told me they're $.59.......I'm like "for the lid or the tray?" and they said "oh no, for both of them together, they're a set" I was like..........oh I'm so coming back around Christmas time for these!! They aren't quite as heavy duty as what Sam's Club sells they're stuff in, but heck for cake truffles, they'll be fine!!! They're sturdy enough!

I like the black rectangle or square trays as well (have them at a local store). I find cookies are easier to arrange in straight rows than in a circle on a round tray, especially for cut out shapes.