The beloved tradition is back as Millikin University will be hosting its 88th annual Cookie Party for members of the University community on Wednesday, Dec. 8, from 2 – 4 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Banquet Rooms of the University Commons on Millikin’s campus.
The Cookie Party will showcase the baking talents of many in the University community, providing over 5,000 cookies for all to sample. The event also includes beverages and great holiday music provided by Millikin’s School of Music.
For more information about Millikin University’s 88th annual Cookie Party, visit millikin.edu/events/cookie-party-2021.
On Dec. 13, 1934, the first Cookie Party, then referred to as the Christmas Tea, was held in the browsing room of Gorin Library. The event was hosted by the Millikin Dames, an organization for women on Millikin’s staff and wives of faculty members and trustees.
The Christmas Tea, an annual holiday event in honor of Millikin students, was held in the Gorin Library until 1960. In 1960, the location of the tea was moved to the University Center. In 1964 the Christmas Tea was renamed the Cookie Party. The Cookie Party was then held in the Richards Treat University Center until the opening of the University Commons.
Student music ensembles have long provided the musical entertainment for the Cookie Parties. Music at the Cookie Party was first officially noted in the cookie party records of 1947, with Professor Harold C. Hess providing a string quartet with piano accompaniment of music “appropriate to the Christmas atmosphere.” Music has been a continuous part of the Cookie Parties from that year to the present.
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