How to Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

If you ever wondered how to host a cookie exchange party, I’m sharing the steps right here. You can make it as simple or as glamourous as you’d like!  To be honest, this is one of the most fun holiday traditions I participate in every year.   Luckily, I don’t have to host one, since I have a good friend who throws an annual party which is the highlight of kicking off the Christmas season.  Now, her party has become such an annual milestone for everyone that we all plan in advance and look forward to it every year.  

How to Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

I’m very big on marking memories and celebrating with my family in lieu of going overboard on gifts. This would be a great tradition to start with your own family or friends, and it can also be a great way to have a variety of cookies without the expense of baking everything yourself.

I share this every year as part of my 30 days Debt-Free Christmas challenge I run in November.  If you haven’t signed up and would like to join us you can sign up here. You’ll get access to daily tips and a private Facebook Group where there is lots of support and encouragement along the way!

Here are some tips and suggestions for hosting a Christmas cookie exchange party, and, as always, you can tailor it to be the kind of party that works best for you!

1.) Create Your Guest List

Really, you can invite anyone!  Think about if there is a group of people you want to see every year, or even just this year!  Who do you not already get a chance to celebrate with?

My friend started her party as a way to get to know the people in her neighborhood, but it has since evolved to be the neighbors who keep coming back and some other new friends.  I have heard of parties that limit it to a certain number of guests (in order to have perfect cookie math), but my friend and I always subscribe to the “more, the merrier” theory!  *Do keep in mind that you have to invite more than you plan to host, not everyone will be able to come!

2.) The Actual Invites

You can do this in any way that works for you, classic snail mail invites, flyers, email, Facebook, etc.  I would encourage you to look at what date you want to host a Christmas cookie exchange party and get the invites out ASAP since the holidays and December tend to fill up for people!

Because my friend’s party has become an annual tradition, she actually sends out a save-the-date card (sometimes on paper, sometimes by email) around October and then sends the real invites about 2 weeks prior to the party.  I love this system because it’s important for me to block out the party on my calendar!

3.) Asking for Cookies

You can be very creative or make things very easy here!  My friend asks everyone to bring 4 dozen cookies (preferably of 1 kind) but otherwise, the sky’s the limit!  You could make rules about how homemade or Christmas-y they have to be, but sometimes it’s just more fun to see what everyone will choose to bring.  Having laid-back cookie requirements also makes it easier for non-bakers and busy parents or workers to still feel like they can participate.

Need a great go-to cookie recipe that’s sure to please? Try my 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Recipe here. It’s super easy and fun to make so it works well for an exchange like this where you need to make a lot of delicious cookies quickly!

4.) How to do The Cookie Exchange

There are a few schools of thought about this.  One way to do it is to ask people to prepackage their cookies into so many smaller packages that can be redistributed.  Honestly, that’s very pretty but way more work for the guests and you have to kind of guess at the right amount!

The other option (and this is my favorite) is to display all the cookies on a big table, and then guests walk around the table, taking only a few at a time, until everyone has enough and the cookies are gone.  My friend provides nice big boxes (like the kind you gift clothes in) for everyone to collect their cookies in!  This method lets people take less or none of a kind they might not like and it allows the guest list to be very flexible right up until the last minute!

Helpful Tips Before You Host a Cookie Exchange Party

Food allergies

It would be a rare occasion in this day and age to host a party where at least one of your guests doesn’t have some kind of food allergy.  Be sure to consider this when setting up your event.  Either be aware of the food allergies your guests have or ask them to please let you know.  There are 2 guests at my friend’s annual event who are gluten-free, but they either give the cookies to their families or away to others, so they don’t mind if the cookies contain gluten.  One even jokes that it prevents her from eating them and she appreciates that during such a junk food season!

Try to include a few options for those who do want cookies that they can safely eat. You can either provide these yourself or recruit a few other guests to help you.  You might have a smaller swap of allergy-friendly foods, or set up a Google doc ahead of time to coordinate recipes and folks who can make them. Guests who bring regular cookies can also have a label with ingredients to be aware of, like nuts, coconut, etc.  Also, be careful of cross-contamination.  Gluten-free cookies that are on the same platter as regular cookies can quickly cease to be gluten-free!

Cookie awards

One of the best parts of our annual cookie party is that there is a little competition built in!  The first year, no one really knew, but now, many of us try to go all out!  Again, this is not required, so people can still show up with any type of cookie that works for them, but it just makes it more fun.  There are four awards you can win: best taste, most unique, best decorated, and most creative.  This range allows many people and cookies to win, even those who didn’t have hours to painstakingly decorate!

Before we rotate around the table to pick up our cookies, we hover around to look at all of the wonderful yumminess and place votes for each category.  The hostess usually takes one cookie and breaks it into small-tasting bites for us to sample.  The actual awards can be fun, silly, and made on a paper plate, or you can choose to do a small gift award, like a gingerbread house or an ornament.

How to make it over the top

If you love this kind of thing and want to go all out when you host a Christmas cookie exchange party, here are some fun aspects you can add to your event.

• Introduce a specific theme that everyone has to work around, dress up for, and incorporate into their cookies, like snowmen or a certain color!
• You can give little favors or gifts to your guests.  My friend hands out raffle tickets, calls numbers, and we get to pick something from under the tree.  They are just a little something, but always a lovely little decoration.
• You could have a white elephant exchange for your guests, too, if you don’t want to provide the gifts yourself.
• Incorporate the awards discussed above and make it a huge competition with great rewards.
• Go all out on your decorations!

How to do it all for less

As much fun as it is to go over the top, it’s not always practical or may not be part of this year’s budget.  In that case, here are a few ways to make it more simple.

• Focus solely on the cookie exchange!  Spend time appreciating the hard work everyone has put into their cookies, and maybe everyone can share a story about what they chose and why.
• Host it in the afternoon, when you can serve coffee or tea as the refreshments without needing to provide much more.  If a snack is necessary, break into the cookies!
• Focus mostly on the time spent together chatting and hanging out, rather than excessive gifts and awards!

Making it a tradition

An event like this is most fun if it becomes an annual tradition!  My friends and I look forward to this event the most each holiday season.  Making it a yearly tradition allows both you and your guests to plan ahead, save money, and look forward to enjoying the community.  You can often find great sales right after Christmas that can help you to prepare for next year, or take advantage of the Halloween and Thanksgiving sales to prepare your baking items.  Create an event and environment that people enjoy and look forward to, then you can enjoy a yearly event that won’t break the bank.

Make it your own

Don’t love some of these guidelines, that’s ok!  As always, this is to get you started, and then you can run with what works for you!  Maybe you’d rather use the event to swap and then wrap cookie plates that can be delivered straight to others, co-workers, or family members.  Maybe you’d like to make it a mother/daughter tea and do some decorating together or build your own gingerbread houses.  

Do whatever will be best for you, to celebrate the traditions you already have, make new ones you love, celebrate with the people you love, honor your Christmas budget, and have fun!