Holiday Fun with a Christmas Cookie Exchange

Looking for a way to spread holiday cheer at work? Bored with the daily challenges and expense of secret Santa games? Not quite sure you can stand getting stuck with another lame gift at a white elephant exchange? Then consider organizing a Christmas cookie exchange at your job or among your social group.

A Christmas cookie exchange or swap allows you to create a sampler of all different kinds of Christmas cookies while only having to bake one kind of cookie yourself. It is also a fun way to experience new types of cookies and learn new recipes. And you can show off your own famous cookies as well.

Only a small amount of organization is needed to put the cookie swap together, and participants will only be committing to working one evening in their kitchen, or, depending on how you set the rules, shopping at a bakery. To make the cookie swap successful you will need at least six participants. You can’t make much of a sampler if only three people participate, so the more the merrier.

After announcing that you would like to set up the exchange, you will need to post or circulate a sign up sheet and designate the day when the exchange will be held. On the sign up sheet, people will state what type of cookie they intend to bring. It is best if everyone does a different kind of cookie. If someone really wants to do a particular recipe, he or she should hurry to sign up early.

You will also have to establish the quantity of cookies that people need to bring. One or two dozen should suffice, but if a large group forms around the exchange, quantities will need to be increased so everyone has a chance to select every kind of cookie.

On the day of the cookie exchange, you will need access to a large table so everyone can set their trays of cookies together. Then, all the cookie bakers go around and assemble their cookie samplers to take home. Someone should also be sure to bring extra plates and baggies so that people can wrap up their samplers. Finding a volunteer to bring in a gallon of milk would likely be a good thing too.

When putting together an exchange of Christmas cookies, you might need to decide if you are going to limit it to only homemade cookies or allow people to buy cookies. It would be up to you and your group how strict to make the rules, but if you allow people to purchase cookies, you should establish that they should be fresh baked from a local bakery. This way quality and freshness remain high and the cookies are special and not just out of box.

Another element that you might want to add to the exchange is the inclusion of recipes. Participants could print up copies of the recipes they used so interested people can pick them up during the exchange.

As a holiday activity, the Christmas cookie exchange offers people an easy and affordable means of coming together and eating sugar. And they get to take home samplers for the enjoyment of others. On a final note, be willing to share with your co-workers who did not sign up for the exchange because they will surely be looking on with puppy dog eyes on cookie day.