Christmas Cookie Exchange Party & Recipes
Host a Christmas cookie exchange party with easy tips and recipes for a fun holiday gathering. This is a Christmas tradition that you can host for ladies night in, a neighborhood get-together, or an office party.
How to Host a Christmas Cookie Swap
Who doesn’t love cookies? Host a Christmas cookie exchange for your friends and neighbors and get the party season started!
I think you’ll find my tips and ideas are practical, thoughtful, and most of all, do-able! Plus, I’ve offered up some of my favorite cookies and bar recipes, and some dessert balls too, to help get you started.
Plan Ahead
Plan and send out invitations as early as possible. If you want to host in early December you’ll have to get them out by Thanksgiving.
- A good time to host may vary, but Sunday afternoon seems to be a good option overall. You can always go with a Friday or Saturday evening too.
- Some people like to host later in the season so they have plenty of cookies to share with family guests when they arrive for Christmas.
- Use digital invitations like Evite, or just create a group text or Facebook event page. The group options are nice because guests can interact and coordinate with each other as to what cookies they’ll be making. The goal is to not have duplicates.
- Let guests know the ground rules for baking. They’ll need to know how many cookies to bring and whether they should bring the recipe, which I highly recommend.
Set the Rules
In the case of a Christmas cookie exchange, you will need to put some ground rules in place for the type of cookies everyone should bring.
For instance, do you want only homemade treats, holiday-specific recipes, or decorated cookies? And do you want to expand the options to bars, balls, and treats?
I suggest that you welcome all skill levels to the party and remind your friends that it’s all about the “fun” aspect. Let them know it’s okay to improvise with semi-homemade or dressed up treats if they must. I admit, I love a good slice-n-bake cookie!
The idea is for everyone to make cookies from scratch, but let’s face it, some of our favorite people can’t or don’t bake, or life get’s too hectic, etc. Let’s not leave them out.
Pick A Theme
A cookie party is pretty much the perfect theme as is, but you can add some festive twists to it too.
- Make it an ugly sweater party.
- Have people dress in festive attire. That could mean red and green, all white, something sparkly, etc.
- It can be a mother-daughter party with multiple generations.
- This could be your theme for a holiday girls night in party.
- Make it a Cocoa and Cookies party and set up a hot chocolate bar.
- Of course a Cookies and Cocktails party is always a fun option.
How Many People?
Keep it small and intimate so guests aren’t overwhelmed by the baking. Six to eight people is a good number for a small party at home, although you could kick it up to 12 or 15 for a church group or ladies group.
Just remember, the more people you invite, the more cookies everyone will need to bake.
Have enough cookies for tasting and taking home. Guests will need to bake a lot of cookies which is why I like a smaller party.
How Many Cookies
I recommend making at least 4 dozen cookies whether it’s a party of 6 people, or 10. That way you should have plenty of baked goods to take home.
Using that rule of thumb, the smaller the guest list is, the more of each type of cookie you get. The larger the party, the more variety you get.
Most recipes make about 2 dozen cookies so keep that in mind when baking.
Decorate
The cookie table will be the center of attention so make it as festive as possible while still leaving room for all those cookies.
- Set up on the dining room table, a long folding table, or the kitchen island; wherever you have the most space.
- Lay a themed tablecloth as a base. It can be as simple as the color that matches your holiday décor.
- If you have holiday dishes, tins or platters, now is the time to use them!
- Make an easy Christmas centerpiece with glass apothecary jars or large bowls filled with ornaments. Gather some evergreen clippings from the yard to place around the base.
- Provide empty place cards or tent cards so each guest can label their cookie type and who made it.
- If you have a Christmas tree to place near the table, that is a bonus!
What to Serve
Have some savory snacks and appetizers available to eat. Finger food that’s easy to pick up is best.
- Since it’s the holidays, why not serve caviar-topped potato chips. Just use thick cut wavy potato chips, top with sour cream or crème fraiche, and a dollop of caviar. There you have an elegant, salty snack that helps cut all the sweetness.
- A vegetable tray is a welcome snack that offers something fresh and light.
- Easy bacon wrapped crackers add a delicious saltiness that’s great for the occasion. It helps balance all the sugar.
- My favorite sausage cheese balls are a fabulous make-ahead appetizer that everyone loves, and they’re so easy to eat.
- Other savory options are a salty popcorn snack mix or savory spiced pecans. They’re great to put in bowls and set around the room.
Drinks
Set up a beverage bar that compliments the cookies. I like an eggnog and coffee bar complete with add-in options.
Provide Kahlua coffee liqueur, Godiva chocolate liqueur, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Amaretto almond liqueur, or Frangelico hazelnut liqueur. All of these taste great added to coffee or commercial eggnog.
An alternative is to make coffee eggnog punch or my easy eggnog party punch.
Take Home Boxes
Have a cookie gifting station so guests can pack them up to take home. Use cookie tins or cute kraft boxes from the craft stores. They’re a great size and shape for packaging the cookies.
You can line them with tissue, parchment, or wax paper, and offer up ribbon to tie them closed.
Activities
You don’t need much to entertain guests at a cookie swap. The fun is in the socializing, eating and drinking.
But if you want to offer something extra you could set up a cookie decorating station.
- Provide plain sugar cookies that are pre-baked. Slice and bake dough works really well for this.
- Set out some decorator icing and writing gels.
- Add bowls of sprinkles, M&M’s, Red Hot candies, sweetened flaked coconut, crushed candy canes, dragées or other toppings, and let guest go to work.
Another thing you can do if you want, is to vote on some favorites. Categories could include overall best flavor, cutest, or most original.
Recipe Exchange
- Ask guests to print out and bring their recipes to share with the group. Make sure they have the guest count so they have enough.
- Or, they can send the recipes to you ahead via email so you can compile them and print them out for each person to take home.
- Even easier is to compile the recipes into a PDF that everyone can download and print for themselves if they want.
Use these free printable recipe cards if you like.
Cookie Recipes
You don’t have to limit your offerings to cookies at an exchange party. I think it’s even better when you include dessert balls & truffles, brownies & bars, or fudge & candy treats.
- My oatmeal lace cookies are crisp and delicate, and simply heavenly.
- Make peppermint Oreo truffles for Christmas. It’s a holiday twist on the classic easy Oreo truffles recipe.
- These peanut butter double chip cookies are a tried and true favorite around here.
- Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies just sound like they’re good for you, right!
- Kick it up a notch with chocolate chip oatmeal bars. They’re equally delicious but with even more layers.
- My recipe for the best shortbread cookies melts in your mouth and are loved by all.
- These pecan pie bars start with a cookie crust for a delicious combination of ingredients.
- I stand by the fact that these fudge brownies are simply the BEST.
- These bourbon balls are great for Christmas parties, and simple to make ahead.
- For the non-bakers, these easy chocolate-dipped biscotti are ideal. Or make them when you’ve run out of time to bake.
- These Golden Graham s’mores bars are super indulgent!
- Add a “healthy” spin with whole wheat double dark chocolate brownie cookies because whole wheat makes is better for you, right?
Final Checklist
Any or all of these Christmas cookie exchange party ideas and recipes will make you the hostess with the most this holiday season.
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This look like a delicious theme!! I have to try those recipes with my kids!! 🙂