Cookie Party for the Smart Cookies

When do we celebrate the happiest time of the year, Christmas, and the most stressful period of the semester, finals? At Millikin’s 88th Cookie Party!

The cookie party will be taking place in the Banquet Rooms of the University Commons on Wed. Dec. 8th from 2-4pm. This event will feature cookies, music and more. 

88 years ago, on December 13th, 1934, the celebration tradition began with tea instead of cookies and was called The Christmas Tea. This event was hosted by the Millikin Dames in Gorin Library. The Millikin Dames was an organization for female faculty as well as the wives of male faculty. In 1960 “The Christmas Tea” was officially renamed “Cookie Party” and took place in the university center. 

Today, students and faculty enjoy tons of free cookies. The tradition is often referred to as the best part of Millikin. Students are not limited to how many cookies they can grab throughout the event. 

COVID-19 made the tradition impossible last year in 2020, making this the first year freshmen and sophomores alike will experience the magic of the party. 

Music, other than cookies, is another notable part of the traditional Cookie Party since 1947 and continues to occur to this present day. According to the university archives, Professor Harold C. Hess provided the first notable documentation of music at the cookie party in 1947 with a string quartet with piano accompaniment.

Since the emergence of music at the annual Cookie Party, different types of musical instruments have been used to set the tone for the event. Photos of a 1999 saxophone ensemble can be seen on Millikin’s archive website underneath a picture of a trumpet quartet from 1979. 

This year performances will feature four performances; Polyphonix (2-2:30), Lyrical Ammunition (2:30-3), Dissonance (3-3:30), Multicultural Voices of Praise (3:30-4). 

Candice Germany, Operator of the University Commons, says that the cookie party is a great way to bring campus together for cookies and these performances. She also says that the line is very long, “It usually goes from the 3rd floor all the way out the door”.   

Be sure to welcome in the holiday spirit (and finals season) with cookies, music and more at the Millikin Cookie Party!