A Cookie Swap With A Twist

I am compensated for my role as a #StraightTalkTesters ambassador.

A cookie swap with a twist, thanks to #StraightTalkWishList

Holiday cookies just taste better, especially when my sister does the baking. She’s a terrific baker. When my kids visit Louisiana in the summer, she makes time to bake with them. Since we’re not spending the holidays with my parents and sister this Christmas, I proposed a cookie swap with my sister. A cookie swap with a twist that would hopefully be a new holiday tradition.

What’s the twist? For this cookie swap, my kids would bake side-by-side with my sister. Side-by-side virtually via texts and photos on my Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy S6 and video chat via our computer. We have all this technology, so why not use it?

When I first proposed baking “together,” my sister was a little skeptical. The kids were thrilled to bake and share their experience with their aunt. By the time we were finished, the kids were asking to (virtually) bake with her again.

Logistics of Baking Together

Mixing snickerdoodles while Jaxson takes photos

We used a combination of devices to make it feel as if we were all baking in the same kitchen. Honestly, we would have been fine with just my smartphone. So don’t feel that you need anything besides your phone.

I had originally envisioned just baking video chat, but the kids had a better idea. Jaxson loves taking photos and video on my Galaxy S6. He wanted to send his aunt photos of each step of our baking. He’d document Sophia doing all the measuring and mixing.

We chose to bake on a Sunday afternoon and dialed in at the agreed upon time. I picked up all the necessary ingredients at Walmart the day before. Since our kitchen counter space is so tiny, we decided to do everything at our dining table.

Baking Side-by-Side (Virtually)

Taking selfies while we bake

While Sophia mixed the ingredients for snickerdoodles, Jaxson took close up photos and selfies. I taught him how to attach photos in text messages so he could send them to his aunt. He wanted his aunt feel as if she was in our home. Even though he sent her a photo every few minutes, I wasn’t worried about any overage charges because I have unlimited texting with Straight Talk.

Cookie mixing text from aunt

In turn, my sister texted photos of her maple oatmeal cookies. Even though we chatted via video on my laptop, the kids loved the instant gratification of sending her photos via text. The Galaxy S6 takes better quality photos than the built-in webcam on my laptop.

We had so much fun. Baking is definitely more exciting when you’re with family. The kids did most of the work while I took photos to document our new family tradition. Jaxson happily texted my sister multiple photos of the finished cookies. The snickerdoodles were delicious, and my sister’s cookies looked tasty, too.

Finished Snickerdoodles

Now that the baking was done, I boxed up the cookies and mailed them to my sister. She sent us some of her maple oatmeal cookies too. It wouldn’t be a cookie swap if we didn’t swap them!

There’s plenty of talk about gifts, but our ultimate holiday wish is to spend time with our family in the best way we can. I’m grateful for technology. What’s on your  #StraightTalkWishList?

With a smartphone on Straight Talk Wireless’ plan with nationwide coverage (available at Walmart), we can text and talk to my sister as much as we want. Their $45 unlimited* plan now includes 5GB of high speed data (up from 3GB). For more details and phones available, Visit the Straight Talk website for more details written in easy to understand language. (*30 day plan includes unlimited talk, text and data with the first 5GB of data at high speed. After 5 GB, data speed will be reduced to as low as 2G for the remainder of the 30 day cycle. At 2G speed, the functionality of some data applications such as streaming video or audio may be affected. All currently active Straight Talk BYOP customers will also receive the first 5 GB Data at High Speeds at the start of their next 30 day cycle. Please refer always to the Terms and Conditions of Service at StraightTalk.com)