Cookie Exchanging for the Holidays

Instead of doing a gift exchange this year, why not try hosting your own cookie exchange for the holidays. You will find that this will allow you to spend wonderful and valued time with your closest friends. Not only do you get to enjoy their company, but you get to enjoy their cookies as well. You will receive many different types of cookies to pass out on your holiday adventures or to just save for yourself. All you need to do is a bake a batch of your personal favorite cookies for the holidays and you will in turn receive several different types of cookies. You will save yourself time and money.

Start by inviting as many people as you would like. It is suggested that you invite around 8 to 12 different people in order to receive a wide variety of cookies and enjoy the many different conversations. Send out your invitations about 2 to 3 weeks before the exchange. This way everyone can be sure they mark it on their calendar and don't plan any other events. If you are going to email the invitations, it is suggested that you do this 1 to 2 weeks before the exchange.

In your invitation, let each invitee know that they should bake at least a dozen cookies for each person that has been invited along with a dozen cookies to allow for sampling at the exchange. This allows for each person that comes to the exchange to be able to take home one dozen of each of the different types of cookies at the exchange.

If you ask your invitees to RSVP that they are coming and what type of cookie they will bring, then you will avoid having duplicates. Family favorites and traditional recipes are a great idea for cookie exchanges. This way, everyone can learn something about the different backgrounds and cultures of those who attend the exchange.

Make sure that your invitation has a clear start time and finish time for your exchange. This is a time of year where everyone is busy and has many different things to plan. One idea is to host an exchange during your lunch hour at your job.

Also, ask invitees to bring copies of the cookie recipe they have baked so that they may pass it around. This is great because there are many who have allergies to specific foods. By knowing the ingredients for the cookies, people can avoid having a bad reaction to a certain cookie. If your invitee has a background or tradition behind their cookie recipe, maybe they would be able to write the story down with the recipe for others to enjoy.

Make sure that you are keeping food safety in mind. If you bake a cookie recipe that requires you to refrigerate the cookies after you bake them, then be sure they are only out of the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 hours. If they are out any longer than you are risking someone getting food poisoning. If you are worried that this may happen, you may want to choose another recipe.

You can generally freeze your cookies without compromising their taste. To do this, put them in a plastic Tupperware container. Put them in layers with wax or parchment paper in between each layer. Be sure to cover them or seal them tightly. When you are ready for them, thaw them out at room temperature. For soft cookies, thaw them in the container. For crisp cookies, unwrap them to thaw.

Let your guests know that it is a good idea to bring a big container for them to take their assorted cookies home in. Be sure that you have extras in case someone forgets. It is also a good idea to have wax paper, aluminum foil and tape for all of your guests and their cookie assortments.

As you probably already know, eating cookies and desserts will make you thirsty. So you want to be sure you have plenty to drink for your exchange. Some great drink ideas would be hot chocolate (always great at Christmas time), juice, pop, coffee or water. Having small plates and napkins are a great thing to have on hand as well.

Designate a specific table for the cookies and decorate it however you would like. Use this table to place all of the invitee's cookies. You can take some pictures of the table and all the cookies once everyone arrives or just allow everyone to admire the table before they all collect their cookies. Take pictures of everyone and all of the activities around you. This will give you all plenty of memories.

The last thing for you to do is to have a wonderful party. Enjoy your guests and their cookies, recipes and conversation.

Some great ideas for cookies to exchange are sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, thumbprints, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, snicker doodles, peanut blossoms or whatever you happen to come up with. Just enjoy baking and sharing.