How To Host A Holiday Cookie Exchange (Free Planner)

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During the holiday season, I spend a crazy amount of time in my kitchen. I love that food is the center of most holiday celebrations. Coming from a large family, food is just as important as the company. It is no secret that the kitchen is my happy place. It’s also my messy place. Yep, I am guilty as charged. I, my friends, am a messy cook!

From holiday baking to cooking, I can whip up some delicious recipes but also turn my kitchen into a disaster zone during the process. Since holiday baking season has begun and that means I will be doing a lot of cleaning up. Scotch-Brite® Scrub Sponges and Dishwands help me get the job done quickly.

I know I can rely on these products to make clean up so much easier! While we love to entertain all year-long, there is always an overload of dishes and messy counters during the holiday season.

The Christmas season is here! Let's have some holiday baking fun. Follow these tips on How To Host A Holiday Cookie Exchange. #Ad #ScrubSeason

I am in the process of planning this year’s virtual holiday cookie exchange. Thanks to the pandemic, a traditional Christmas Cookie exchange is not feasible this year so I am hosting a no-contact social distance cookie exchange.

The Christmas season is here! Let's have some holiday baking fun. Follow these tips on How To Host A Holiday Cookie Exchange and share some baking love with your friends. Download this free Christmas printable Cookie Exchange guide. It includes tips and ideas on how to plan the ultimate Christmas Cookie Exchange as well as invitations and recipe cards. — Download this free Holiday Cookie Exchange Planning Guide to help plan the ultimate Christmas Cookie exchange.

Have you ever attended or hosted a holiday cookie exchange? They are so much fun. It’s a great way to celebrate the season, mingle with friends and score some really delicious cookies to bring home.

Pick a date.
Determine who you want to invite. Go big or small. It’s totally up to you.
Send out your invitations (you can go digital by sending via those popular party planning websites, send via email or send by mail) at least 3 weeks prior to the day.
Explain in your invitation that each invitee will bake one type of their favorite cookie. Determine how many of each of the SAME cookie you want your guest to bring. Six to eight dozen always seems like a good number. So for instance, if you invite 8 people and you ask everyone to make 8 dozen cookies, each guest will go home with eight dozen different cookies (one dozen of each kind). If you invite more guest, each person would go home with a fewer amount of cookies. Include this information in your invitation.
Ask everyone to bring copies of their recipe to share (enough for all the guests)
I like to touch base with each guest about a week before just to make sure they understand what they need to bring and how everything works. Festive cookies are always great for this type of party. Encourage everyone to make a recipe that is easy to freeze and transport.
Buy any food and supplies you will need to host the party.

It’s Party Day!

Decorate your party area (or home) with Christmas decorations.
Have a designated area where your guests can place their cookies. All of the cookies should be in one location.
Serve drinks and some food/light appetizers. This will also help everyone from eating the cookies they brought.
Play some festive Christmas music in the background to set the mood.

Give everyone a food storage container (you can use aluminum pans or plastic). Have plastic wrap and wax paper on hand to layer and seal.
Each person goes around the table and takes the designated number of cookies for each recipe that you decided upon. This is an awesome way to try a lot of different recipes. Have tissue paper and plastic wrap on hand to help your guest package up their treasures.
Be sure to have the recipes for each cookie in front of the cookie for your guests to take.
I like to send everyone home with a parting gift before they leave. Something small like a holiday cookie cutter is a great idea. Wrap it in some tissue paper and tie a pretty bow on it.

How are you planning to celebrate the holiday season? Try hosting a Holiday Cookie Exchange. Food is always a great way to celebrate! And don’t forget, the cleanup process is always easier with Scotch-Brite™ Brand. When you use the right tools for each surface, cleaning your home will be easier and faster.