Throwing a cookie exchange party? Here’s 6 tips that will help you plan a successful and simple party you and your guest will love! Check out the end of the post for the winning sugar cookie recipe!
Tips for a Christmas Cookie Exchange
My mom, the inspiration for this blog, used to have a Christmas Cookie Exchange with her girlfriends every December. I’ve always wanted to host one and this was the year! I know I just had a baby, but really, having a Cookie Exchange party was just about the simplest party I’ve ever hosted. My cute neighbor gets the credit, too. We both needed a girls night out and this was a perfect excuse to get together with friends and party after our kiddos were asleep.
Here’s a few tips and things we did to make our cookie exchange party simple and a success!
1. Send out invitations.
You could get really creative with invitations by giving out a cookie cutter or spatula with the details or simplify and use Evite. They have some cute, free designs specific to Cookie Exchange parties. We opted for Evite because there just wasn’t time for handmade invitations and that’s perfectly okay!
2. Set up for the cookie exchange party.
I’m a huge fan of lining the tables and/or serving areas with paper for easy clean-up. I used some wrapping paper to cover the island with. And then when it came time to clean up, all I had to do was roll it up and throw it away. Easy peasy!
3. Have guests write what type of cookies they brought.
Some cookies don’t need an explanation, but some are hard to tell what they are just from looking at them. I made these simple labels (just a folded index card with a circle-punched paper taped to it) and put out a marker so when guests arrived, they could label their cookies/treats. We didn’t limit it to just cookies, although most everyone brought a cookie of some sort.
4. Make some simple voting cards for your guests to pick their favorites.
We thought it would be fun to have everyone pick their favorites. We chose 4 categories: Best Looking, Best Tasting, Most Festive, and Best All-Around. You could pick other categories, too! We had some simple prizes for the winners.
5. Make sure you have plenty of plates and plastic wrap for your guests to package up cookies to take home with them.
We had each guest bring 2 dozen cookies. After sampling them at the party, there were still lots leftover. So we made sure everyone took a variety home to share with their families.
6. Keep the entertainment simple.
Guests will welcome a night spent eating cookies and treats, drinking hot cocoa, and chatting. Don’t stress too much about other entertainment for the night.
^See those Star Sugar Cookies? They won best all-around cookie! Grab the recipe here! Hint: they aren’t your normal sugar cookies.
Make A Cookie Exchange Party a Tradition
I seriously want to make this a Christmas tradition because it was so fun and so easy! It’s probably one of the few parties that you won’t have to make all the food for!
Have you ever hosted a cookie exchange party? What do you do to make it a success?
Party Supply Sources:
- Jumbo confetti- JustSimplyL
- Polka dot wrapping paper- IKEA
I did one of these parties at Valentine’s day. I bought little boxes for the cookies to go home in. Each box was around $0.75 and i got them from orientaltrading.com. It made the cookies much easier to carry home!
What a great idea!