I been to many cookie exchanges and have hosted several.

* remember that everyone will need to make enough cookies for everyone to have a share -- and you'll come home with just as many... so you need to figure out how many of each kind everyone will take home. Are you thinking one cookie of each kind? I've found that about 1/2 dozen each kind is nice;

* having said this, 11 invitees plus yourself is a managable number, both of guests and as the number of cookies you'll need to bake;

* please don't do a party where people are asked to purchase something;

* all of my own parties were luncheons, but many I've been to have just been afternoon teas or get-togethers;

* I always asked the guests to portion-out the cookies into bags or boxes and then warned gfuests that they will need a baskets or other container to bring their cookies and then carry new goodies home.
If you are only going to have each guest just take a couple cookies of each kind from a tray then you will need to provide some sort of containers;

* make sure you double stress the no nut rule, but don't be surprised iof some forget and bring their favorite Peanutbutter Clusters without thinking.

Keep it simple, have fun, and enjoy your friends!

Isn't each person supposed to bring copies of their cookie recipe too? That way each person invited will take home a few of each cookie plus the recipes for those cookies in case she wants to make some or all of those she has tasted.

Thank you, Westelle! Great tips. I was thinking maybe 20 would be too big. I'm not sure about asking them to bake more...6 doz might seem unmanageable to some people?...have to think on that one! I really just want to get them together for a holiday drink and nosh, some laughs, and yes cookies, too:)

I didn't think that Teresa - I will put that on the invitation!

this has become a tradition for me and my friends. When my daughters were younger, I did a mother/daughter thing The frst year I made gingerbread houses for the girls to decorate (since I only had one mold took me 2 days!) next year I did sugar cookies ornaments, much easier, after that I got christmas ornament kits. If I have a smaller group everyone goes home with 1 dozen of each kind of cookie. For larger groups, 1/2 dozen of each type. Some people, esp. those who don't cook, freak out at having to do 20 dozen cookies! I serve an appt. spread and 2 kinds of soup, a nice champange punch and tea & coffee. Definetly have them do recipe cards. I go to the dollar store and pick up christmas gift bags to send my cookies home in. I wouldn't combine it with a jewelry party, just enjoy the company.

Love the idea of soup! Perfect!

The last few I hosted also included bringing a wrapped christmas ornament for a Dirty Santa exchange. I love the ideas posted by westelle and the soup idea too.... sounds like fun!

A

I say to make a rule of no shortbread cookies. Maybe have a lucky winner who gets to make it. When I had mine well over half had brought shortbread :(. It was fun - nothing was planned, just hanging out eating and drinking with lots of shortbread.

Dirty Santa? Tell me more...that sound like my girls - lol! I like the idea of the ornament:) For sure include that!

Cookie - lol on the shortbread! I def want it to just be fun too...

My friend and I host one each year, and we have it down to a science. First of all, she has a huge house, so we go big. We invite about 90 (yes, you read that right) people and ask each guest to bring 5 dozen of their favorite homemade holiday cookie. We order bakery boxes and ask our daughters and their friends to be the elves that fill the boxes and stack them by the door for guests to take as they leave. (our girls are in hs, so they do a great job). We ask each guest to bring something for whatever charity we are focusing on that year. This year, we've asked for gift cards with only the amount filled in, for a friend who is undergoing breast cancer treatment. No names mean no thank you cards and the family can use them for themselves, as presents, or go shopping online. We also tell anyone with a child under one, or more than 4 kids, (hubbies don't count), that they don't have to bring anything. We supply wine, beer and wegman's assorted cut wraps. Women drink a lot, but don't eat much! We also give out prizes for different cookies; ie, the PMS award for the best use of chocolate, the Katherine Hepburn award for the classic cookie that never goes out of style, and our grand prize is the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree award for the humble cookie that best exemplifies the love and generosity of the season. The CB award comes complete with a homemade charlie brown xmas tree trophy that the winner has to bring back the next year. They also get to help pick the next winner. We also do the (fill in the blank) award for the cookie you most want to take a bite out of. Usually a toss up between Jon bonjovi and Matthew McConneghy.
Ask me any questions--ours is a huge success and so much fun.

jo

Oh, also, we have the guests drop off the cookies earlier in the day of the party. Use platters of different heights and upside down flower pots to save room at the table.

Ive had many...tell them to bring a container for there take home cookies and approx X amounts of printed recipes...We have a ornament swap...Lots of fun!

I'll be going to two in the next week. Both are informal as far as what to bring. I usually bring peanut clusters or toffee instead of cookies. For the church cookie exchange, we also bring fruit and make up platters for the elderly and homebound. The other one is a mother-daughter cookie exchange (I have to borrow a daughter for this one :) Last year was the first year I went and I dressed the way I normally would for a cookie exchange and discovered when I arrived that I was completely underdressed-the hostess was wearing a velvet dress and the rest of the guests looked liked they were at a cocktail party. I guess it's a southern thing. Anyways, everyone just brings some cookies and takes home what they want-no hard and fast rules about what to bring or how many. It's more for socializing than bringing home a bunch of cookies. Good luck Maggie. Post some pictures!

Tracey

Please, please post the recipe for the cookie that wins "best of show". Always looking for a new great cookie recipe. If it doesn't have chocolate, even better since seems there is an abundance of great chocolate cookies around. But I won't be picky, whatever you can take the time to post would be appreciated.

Good luck on your party!

Ok...so I better print the invitation tomorrow so that I am sure I do it!!! Heee....I threaten it every year :) I'm doing it! Thank you for the ideas!!! I was thinking the 12th but with Hanukkah now I'm thinking the following week...the Saturday before Christmas - sure people could use a breather...or is it stressful for people? OMG...I over analyze everything!!! Invitation...invitation...before I over think!

Tracey - wow I wouldn't have thought that dressed up either! LOL Yes, for sure going to keep it casual.

Elphaba, sure thing...and your name...from Wicked?...love it:)

I use to host mine on the Sat. before, but decided that was some peoples last Sat. shopping day, so I do it now on the Fri. evening around 6:30 -7:00 and it's like a girls night out.(yeah some stay til closing time). Have fun with your party!!

I have done a HUGE Christmas party for years that centers around a cookie exchange. My word of warning--it is so fun that no one will ever stop insisting you give it! My kids feel it is the centerpiece of the Christmas season, and I start getting questions about when it will be starting before Thanksgiving. We invite well over 100 people (families). We ask people to bring "a plate" of cookies to share. I make a lot of extra cookies--my top pleaser with the kids are Rice Krispie bars wrapped with fruit rollup to look like little presents. I also make coconut macaroons out of Silver Palate (dead easy) and dip them in chocolate so they look fancy. I have a number of other easy recipes as well. I make two huge pots of soup--a Moroccan soup and pumpkin-peanut soup (wouldn't work for you, obviously), buy a ham and rolls, and provide a few other food items. I also have drinks plus mulled wine and hot cider.
My top lessons learned:
--soup is hugely popular.
--have paper plates and foil available and people take home cookies on that, or on the plate they brought
--people are often really intimidated by baking. If they express any reservations, I tell them not to bring anything. I always have plenty.
--I end up with all of the cookies that nobody wants. I gave myself permission a few years ago to just throw out anything I didn't think we would eat. Otherwise, it got depressing with the rock hard gingerbread, my sweet neighbor's tasteless cookies with candied fruit, and the occasional bag of Chips Ahoy.
--I don't ask for an RSVP because I don't get them anyway--and if I don't ask, I don't need to sweat it. There are always plenty of cookies if we run out of other stuff.

Maggie, I wish I lived closer, I love cookie exchanges. We used to have one at work, but everyone stopped baking cookies. Each year we got more Chips Ahoy and Oreos and fewer homemade things and finally we just quit.

We each brought a brown bag lunch because it was held on lunch hour, and everyone brought 5 dozen cookies plus another dozen to eat with lunch. Everyone ended up with between 3 and 6 cookies of each type. We brought our own containers and copies of the recipe.

I always went straight home and packaged the cookies in separate containers, otherwise everything tasted of peanut butter or mint or whatever the strongest flavor was.

No shortbread, though? I love shortbread!

Hugs and kisses to the big boy and little Grace. I suppose she's actually quite a lot bigger now. And does she have an egg allergy too? I was thinking she did, poor kid, and with all those cookies. Cookies and Christmas music are some of the few things I actually enjoy about Christmas!

Annie

One year a friend refused to bring/bake one more cookie (health kick). She did think she might make some Nut Balls. And so the Goodie Exchange was born. And yes, I did have to have it every year!

The rules were that you had to make a decent portion of fun food for each person invited: one jar of jam; a plate of cookies, a small loaf of fruit bread; etc.

Some of the most unusual were: frozen appetizers; bean soup mix in a quart jar; pretzels; candy; pizzellis (sp?); decorated donuts; a cake mix in a jar -- all you added was water. I always made/make Christmas Jam, which could be made ahead and stored until needed.

Everyone thought this much more fun than getting 12 dozen cookies. And, it's my understanding that the old Hartland, Wisconsin neighborhood still has it every year.

Maggie - sorry I am just getting back to you here...

A Dirty Santa is where everyone brings a wrapped present/ornament and puts it in a pile. Everyone draws a number, and the person with #1 gets first pick of the unwrapped presents. The person with #2 can either take an unwrapped present or the thing person #1 unwrapped. This continues on until the highest number has gotten something. THEN the person with #1 gets one last shot at any of the unwrapped presents. Some people add rules, like a present can only be "stolen" 3 times but we always just left it a free-for-all and it worked out well.

Alexa

Alexa, do you mean that the person got to pick the WRAPPED present, then unwrap it, so everyone knew what they were stealing, or did they have to leave it wrapped and nothing got unwrapped until everyone had a present?

You said everyone brought a wrapped present, but then you said they chose from the pile of unwrapped presents. Yeah, I know, you posted at 3 am. LOL

Annie

Yep - the next person gets to pick from the wrapped presents under the tree or any of the unwrapped presents. I was at one of these a few years ago and a Lenox ornament got "stolen" 8 times or more! LOL!

ooooh, more ideas...thank you...I appreciate it:)

Gardener, I switched to the Friday....I think that is a better idea!

Westelle, I love the idea of a Goodie Exchange! So great how these things morph.

Caliloo, ahhh got u...I was wondering about the "dirty" lol - thank you - I will do that with the ornament exchange...I was just at a bingo party and we did that - so funny - the big h it was a panini maker!

Annie - I wished you lived closer, too and I fully expect a package of oreos or chips ahoy..lol! Thank you for asking - yes she has the egg allergy and recently had a violent reaction to a little piece of pumpkin sugar cookie at a party...the good news is though - she was recently tested again at her 2 year and her peanut and egg numbers have gone down - still significant, still need epi pen but is a very good sign. I have learned as she is out in the world more that I must always be diligent and can never become complacent. (((my baby girl)))

So...my plans for the cookie exchange is she will not be home and I plan on giving most of the cookies to my son's class and save some for treats for Andrew after she go to sleep. I know...is it crazy for me to have one? The peanuts is an absolute NO - nobody can bring them. Peanuts can get in the air..dust, etc...so harder to control. Also, eggs if baked longer and at higher temp - like a cake change their protein.

So...I still haven't given out my flyer/invitation...I'm gonna do it, right?

Well, of course you're going to do it!

Poor Gracie, though, I LOVE Christmas cookies, I've gotta find her an egg free and peanut free organic goodie!

Annie

K...I am...I am...got it all printed up...give it out tonight:))))

It really is true there is nothing like the incredible, edible egg! I have tried every sub there is...however there are some processed cookies that don't have eggs and are ok like oreos - go figure - well ok for her but not good with all the carp in them - lol!

Well, Maggie, I guess it wouldn't HAVE to be a cookie, but most treats have an awful lot of sugar. Your dentist would love you.....LOL.

I can't even imagine trying to cook and bake without eggs.

Annie