One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is host a cookie swap with friends or co-workers. Each person brings one kind of cookie, and then you share so everyone comes home with many delicious kinds of cookies. It’s a great way to share your traditions with others, try something new, and fill your kitchen with a variety of baked goods you didn’t have to make! Here are some of my favorite ways to host a cookie swap:

Cookie Swap Idea #1: Swap Recipes

If you’re not keen on the idea of a house full of sweets, or you can’t imagine where you’ll find the time to bake six dozen cookies, make recipes cards to swap instead. You can pick and choose the recipes you like to bake on your own, or just collect them through the years in a cookbook full of memories.

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Cookie Swap Idea #2: Bake Together

If you have a large kitchen or you want to do a small swap, invite friends to bake at your home. Provide flour, sugar, baking powder, and other basic baking ingredients and let your friends bring the extras. You can talk about your recipes as you make them together, and enjoy the time together while they bake.

Cookie Swap Idea #3: Make Cookies You can Decorate

If you’ve got kids at home, why not have everyone make sugar or gingerbread cookies in one shape each? Then bring home a variety of shapes (or share them at the party) for the kids to decorate with frosting, sprinkles, and colored sugar.

Cookie Swap Idea #4: Consider Special Diet Needs

If you’re vegan or you have allergies, a cookie swap seems like a terrible idea. But why not host a swap only with cookies that fit certain dietary restrictions? Imagine a child with a peanut or egg allergy being told she can enjoy any one of the cookies she sees. Joy to the world, indeed.

Cookie Swap Idea #5: Make Cookie Ornaments

I can tell you from experience that cookies that have been hanging on your tree for two weeks don’t taste very good, so you’ll want to eat your ornaments quickly or just use them as decoration. Simply poke a hole in a sugar, gingerbread, or other smooth flat cookie with a chopstick before it bakes, then run a string or ribbon through the hole when it cools.

Do you do a holiday cookie swap? What’s your favorite holiday cookie? Share with us in the comments below!