7 Tips for the Christmas Cookie Exchange

This is another post from a blog I'm consolidating to one blog stream.....

Our house has been doing a cookie exchange long before it was popular.  We've done it in huge groups of nearly a hundred and small groups of under 10.  I thought I'd share some tips.

1. Check to see if anyone has allergies and how best to notify them not to eat a certain cookie.  For instance, it they can't have nuts, tell exchangers to either avoid making cookies with nuts or indicate whether there are nuts in their cookie.
2. Ask your exchangers to try making homemade cookies.  It makes the exchange more interesting and unique.
3. If some exchangers can't make homemade - don't sweat it, no reason to get upset.  It'll spoil the fun.
4. Layout cookies on a long table.  The spread looks impressive.  We had an exchange at a school once and laid out the cookies down the hallway.



An invention of my own - black forest cookie

In small groups, have everyone one at least one cookie for each member exchanging.  When you have under 10 people.  My minimum is to make a dozen.
5. In large groups: It's not unreasonable to ask to make 2 dozen cookies - I've even made 3 dozen in one exchange.  Not everyone will get a sample of each cookie but there are enough cookies for everyone to choose from.
6. Set a number of cookies that each exchanger may take.  If they brought a dozen have them take a dozen cookies.  Then if there are cookies left over, they can take more.  This also allows for everyone to have their pick of the cookies.
7. If you are dealing with kids, have the kids go in shifts, random number/animal/letter from a hat when they hand in their cookies.  You can have 10 rabbits in a group and announce that it's the rabbit group turn to pick out cookies.

Leftover from this weekend's cookie exchange

All in all, I've never been to a cookie exchange where the exchangers didn't behave nor didn't have a good time.  Of course, next year my kids wants to do a cupcake exchange.  :)  Happy holidays!