The best things about the holidays: parties, festive decor, friends, family, and cookies. Mix all those things together and you’ll have yourself a Santa-worthy soirée. We don’t blame you if you want to surround yourself with cookies all season — we’re right there with you. That’s why we’re here to share some of our favorite ideas for hosting the ultimate cookie party.

Whether you’re planning an adults-only holiday hang with your pals or a kid-friendly get-together with the little ones, we have plenty of cookie party ideas to ensure your holiday season is sweet!

How to Plan an Incredible Cookie Party

We love the idea of hosting a party centered around our favorite baked goods. Sounds like you do too! Here’s how to take your idea and make it a reality with our cookie party planning guide. Follow these steps to plan and host a memorable cookie-themed bash.

1. Choose the Type of Party You Want

Not all cookie parties are the same. In fact, there are several different types of cookie parties you could consider hosting. These are our favorites.

Cookie Swap Party

Cookie party: Holiday Cookie Swap Invitation

Design: Paper Raven Co.

Matching invite: Holiday Cookie Swap Invitation

Up first is the ever-popular cookie exchange party. Invite your friends to bring a selection of their favorite store-bought or freshly baked cookies and swap them with others. That way, everyone gets to sample a variety of tasty treats and take a handful home with them too.

We love the idea of setting up a station with craft gift boxes, festive labels, and cute ribbons or twine. You can position all the cookies nearby at another station with platters and various plates that allow for easy tasting. Ask your guests to set up their own cookies with a label indicating who baked which recipe (or which specialty shop or local baker they came from).

When it’s time to trade, you can set out the remaining cookies and invite guests to walk around and fill their boxes with their favorite cookies. It never hurts to pop open a bottle of bubbly — cookies are a celebration after all!

Cookie Decorating Party

Cookie party: Classic Christmas Cookies Invitation

Design: Becky Nimoy Stationery

Matching invite: Classic Christmas Cookies Invitation

A cookie decorating party is a fun way to express your creativity and get into the holiday spirit. Bake and decorate fresh sugar cookies or invite guests for a gingerbread house decorating contest.

The key to any cookie decorating party is to have all the cookies ready in advance — meaning baked and fully cooled by the time your guests arrive. This is especially important if you’re having kiddos join the festivities.

When it comes to the actual decorating, the possibilities are endless. Sure, you can spend hours (maybe days) on Pinterest looking for inspiration, but you can also check out these snowy trees or these ugly sweater cookies. To ensure there are enough materials to go around, ask guests to contribute frosting, piping tools, and sprinkles — think of it as a cookie decoration supply potluck!

Cookie Baking Party

Cookie party: Baked Illustrations Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

Matching invite: Baked Illustrations Invitation

Invite everyone to get involved with the holiday baking with a cookie baking party. This is a fun way to bake cookies together with a holiday playlist in the background for extra festive magic.

To make things easy, use a simple Christmas cookie recipe or chocolate chip cookie recipe and prep the cookie dough ahead of time so it’s ready to go in the oven. You could also use a tried-and-tested family recipe that’s quick to prepare and bake, so everyone can participate in the whole process.

If you have enough time, combine the baking with cookie decorating for an all-day holiday celebration. If not, let your guests sample the freshly baked cookies and take some home with them as a thank you gift.

Cookies and Cocktails Party

Christmas Cookies Galore Invitation

Design: Elizabeth Silver

Matching invite: Christmas Cookies Galore Invitation

Last but definitely not least, consider hosting a cookie and cocktails (or mocktails) party. Pair platters of freshly baked goods with a selection of themed drinks for a fun way to truly get into the holiday spirits!

Party guests love variety, so mixing and matching different types of cookies on multiple holiday platters is always a good approach. We also love the idea of creating an intricately arranged design, like this incredible poinsettia platter. For drinks, check out these holiday cocktails for ideas and easy-to-recreate recipes. (You can also try alcohol-free versions.).

2. Select the Date, Time, and Venue

Friends decorating cookies

Every party needs a date, time, and venue — so it’s time to get planning! Think about what works best for your type of holiday cookie party so you can finalize the details.

For instance, if you’re hosting a cookie swap with the family and kids, a weekend afternoon might work. Meanwhile, a cookies and cocktails soiree with coworkers might be best for a Friday evening. Whatever the case might be, try planning it for early December. That way, guests can plan accordingly before the busiest time of the year begins.

When it comes to the venue, you can’t go wrong hosting at home for family and friends. You have all your familiar surroundings and baking supplies close by, and there’s space for guests to relax in your living or dining room while you wait for things to bake or cool.

3. Invite Your Party Guests

Festive Cookies Invitation

Design: Lisa Travis

With your essential party details confirmed, you can begin sending out invites to your guest list. To make it easier on yourself (and to avoid wasted paper and postage costs), opt for customized online invitations.

At Greenvelope, we offer a beautiful collection of cookie party invitations — including this Festive Cookies invite. Each design can be customized, so you can play around with the layout, fonts, colors, and wording.

Along with important details like the type of party you’re hosting, you may want to mention any allergies or dietary restrictions to consider and whether you’d like guests to send cookie recipes in advance so you can check for duplicates.

4. Choose the Party Menu

People getting food from a charcuterie board

Cookies might be the main attraction, but at most parties you’ll also want a menu of other items to complement the cookies. Serve simple appetizers or charcuterie boards to offer some savory options. For other sweet treats, consider cupcakes, brownies, or even an ice cream bar. Think about drinks too — for a holiday party you can’t go wrong with peppermint hot chocolate.

5. Gather Ingredients

Girl wearing a Santa hat

Depending on the type of cookie party you’re hosting, you’ll want to ensure you have all the necessary ingredients for the big day. Create a shopping list for items like flour, baking soda, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips. If it’s a cookie decorating party, add sprinkles, marshmallows, and icing to your list. For a cookies and cocktail party, don’t forget the mixers!

Make sure you have all the other supplies you’ll need too. This includes party favor boxes, table decorations, tablecloths (especially if kids will be decorating), holiday banners, and tableware.

6. Buy or DIY Party Favors

Cookie party: people decorating cookies

As with any other party, it’s sweet to send guests home with a mini thank you gift or memento of the time you’ve spent together. With a cookie party, there are plenty of themed favor ideas. Give your guests the gift of a cookie tin (that they can fill at the party), a booklet of your favorite recipe cards, or a few cookie cutters wrapped in cellophane and ribbon.

7. Celebrate!

With enough preparation, you’ll have more time to enjoy with your guests when the day of the celebration rolls around. Prepare as much as you can in advance so that you can sit down and get baking or decorating right alongside your guests. Clean up can always wait until the next day!

Use These Ideas to Become the Best Cookie Party Host

A holiday cookie party is one of the sweetest ways to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Use these ideas and tips to help you organize and host the kind of cookie party your guests will always want to join.

When it’s time to invite your loved ones along to the big party, use our cookie party invites. They’re easy to create and personalize, and your guests can excitedly RSVP yes in just a few clicks.