Gather your loved ones and get out your aprons — ’tis the season for a holiday cookie party! We teamed up with Crisco® to bring you these top tips for planning a sweet holiday baking bash.
Holiday Cookie Party Invitations
Invite loved ones over with this free EVITE invitation below or another one of our holiday party invitations. Use the “Message from Host” section of your invitation to ask guests to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bowl) as well as other baking essentials — including cookie sheets, measuring cups and spoons and cooling racks — so you won’t be short on supplies.
Holiday Cookie Party Decorations
Greet your guests with our free printable welcome sign. You can frame it and hang it on a wall — or even your front door!
Make your space feel extra cozy with twinkle lights, ornaments and other holiday decorations.
Holiday Cookie Party Food & Drink
Make sure to have other eats on hand guests don’t fill up on cookies alone. For example, these beef and blue cheese crostini make tasty finger foods to snack on between batches.
And who could resist a slice of this pumpkin spice bread with toasted marshmallows?
To drink, offer hot or cold apple cider as well as milk (for dunking cookies, of course).
Holiday Cookie Party Planning Tips
A little pre-party setup goes a long way:
- Before your guests arrive, cover your countertops and/or tabletops (wherever you’ll be working) with butcher paper so you can easily roll up and toss out any mess when you’re done.
- Bake a few batches of cookies ahead of time so some guests can get right to decorating. Set up separate stations for mixing, baking, decorating and packaging and let everyone float between stations. If your kitchen is on the small side, you may want to set up your decorating and/or packaging stations in an adjacent room.
- Set up several cake stands (or use plates atop upside-down bowls) to display cookies — and maximize table space.
Holiday Cookie Party Activities
A cookie party is all about cookies — from mixing to baking, from decorating to packaging. Start with Crisco’s basic Homemade Cookie Mix as your base, then mix in your favorite flavors to make countless variations, including chocolate chip walnut cookies, peanut butter cookies, classic gingersnaps, pecan cookie bars and frosted chocolate drops.
Next, create a DIY cookie decorating station by setting out small bowls of colored sugar and sprinkles along with squeeze bottles of royal icing.
Set up a cookie packaging station so your friends can take home cookies after the party — or get them ready to give to friends and family for the holidays.
Ask guests to bring their own resealable plastic containers or cookie tins — or provide some for them. Let guests turn their holiday cookies into gorgeous gifts by offering containers, ribbon, twine and scissors, as well as our free printable “for you” labels and free printable gift tags to tie around jars.
Holiday Cookie Party Favors
Give holiday-shaped cookie cutters as a simple party favor. Guests can use them for their own holiday baking — or bring them back for next year’s party.
You can also encourage guests to post their favorite cookie recipe in the EVITE invitation comments prior to the party. Or ask guests to share recipes with each other with our free printable recipe cards at the party itself.
After the decorating is done, sit back and relax with your baking buddies. Pair your homemade goodies with a tall glass of milk or cider, and enjoy!
NEXT: Check out more holiday party ideas!
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