How to Throw the Ultimate Christmas Cookie Party: A Complete Guide
If you want to celebrate the holidays with your coworkers, friends, or family, a Christmas cookie party is a delicious way to put everyone in a festive mood. This type of shindig is beloved by folks young and old and by groups big and small. Need some cookie decorating party ideas to kickstart your new favorite holiday tradition? CocuSocial is here to get you started!
What is a Christmas Cookie Party?
A Christmas cookie party can take a few different forms:
- A host provides a space for guests to bake and decorate cookies
- Guests bring cookies to exchange with one another
- A group attends a baking class taught by a professional pastry chef
No matter which form your party takes, it’s a chance to get into the holiday spirit. Making homemade treats in the shape of bells, holly, and Christmas trees and decorating them with red, white, and green toppings is a timeless way to bring your guests together.
There is no “right” way to throw a party like this: whether you’d prefer to make patisserie alongside master chefs or snack on regular chocolate chip cookies while watching a movie at home with friends, go for it! Or, if you’re ready to go all-out with Christmas flavors galore, we’re here to help you plan.
How to Host a Christmas Cookie Party
Ready to start brainstorming cookie party ideas? We’ve created the ultimate guide for how to throw a delicious and memorable cookie baking party. First, decide whether to host a baking party, cookie exchange, or take a group baking class!
Consider a Baking Class
Don’t want to host a Christmas cookie decorating party at your place? You don’t have to! Attending a group baking class makes for a super sweet party, and it takes all of the hosting responsibility off your plate. The supplies, ingredients, and expertise are all provided by expert pastry chefs.
You’ll learn new baking techniques, be able to relax with your loved ones or coworkers, and you won’t feel exhausted afterward. There is no prep and no cleanup needed for these two-hour sessions. From crafting delicate macarons to flaky croissants,, CocuSocial baking classes host groups of up to 20.
Decide the Basics
Before you send out the invitations, there are many decisions to make. Which factor is more important to you: the guests or the date? If you’re throwing a small party and want to ensure all the guests can make it, run the date and time by them first. Of course, the purpose of any good cookie baking party is to have a jolly time. But beyond that, hosts can use these details to help narrow down the date.
If you’re baking cookies, especially for Santa, consider hosting just before Christmas Eve. Schedule your party at the start of December or even late November to usher in the festive season. Alternatively, the week bridging Christmas and New Year’s is ideal, as many guests will likely be home and more available.
Finally, think about your budget. A larger budget allows for a large baking party, whereas an intimate cookie exchange party is less expensive.
Specify the Theme
A Christmas cookie party is already a solid theme, but you can personalize or modify it. Your guest list can inform your Christmas cookie party ideas. For example, a non-religious or kids’ party might use reindeer-shaped cookie cutters.
On the other hand, a church group may use religious cookie shapes like angels and incorporate traditions such as lighting an Advent wreath.
To make guests of other faiths feel at home at your cookie decorating party, choose a neutral snowy theme with snowmen cookie cutters. Guests celebrating Hanukkah will appreciate blue and white icing for Hanukkah designs, dreidel-shaped cookie cutters, and ingredients to make the Jewish sweet treat called rugelach.
Send Out Invitations
Now it’s time to send out invitations. Sending invitations by mail is a fun, classy move. People are used to only receiving bills and ads in their mailbox; seeing a handwritten invitation to a cookie decorating party will make their day! You can also opt for an emailed invitation. Alternatively, a group message over text or social media is a time-saving method for casual get-togethers.
No matter what form your invitations take, ask recipients to state any food allergies or restrictions in their R.S.V.P. Note a deadline for their response so that you have time to buy the right amount of ingredients and party supplies. Detail the party’s location, whether it is a baking class or at your home.
Communicate the Details
Explain the type of party you’re hosting and what to bring. A cookie exchange requires some prep on behalf of the guests beforehand: they will need to show up with a dozen or so cookies. To prevent everyone from bringing the same type of cookie, have guests state the kind of cookies they are bringing on a shared document ahead of time. Perhaps you’ll want to expand the party beyond cookies to any dessert.
Whatever form your cookie party takes, guests will appreciate plenty of advanced notice.
Choose a Recipe
If the host is baking several types of cookies for guests to decorate, gingerbread is the Christmas go-to. In terms of cookie decorating for kids, sugar cookies are a must. They’re easy to decorate and always popular with kids. If you’d like, pick a third option, perhaps a different and experimental cookie. Consider a new recipe you’ve been wanting to test out. If you are hosting an exchange, choose one recipe to bake beforehand.
Extra crafty or kitchen-savvy friends will enjoy lots of decorating options and experimental flavors. But a party can be just as fun when you keep it simple. For large groups, simple is best: think of streamlined baking and decorating options.
Make a Shopping List
On your cookie party shopping list, you’ll need to get all the ingredients needed for your chosen recipes. Do you need additional mixing spoons, wax paper, or cookie tins? You’ll also need ingredients for the icing, sprinkles, or other toppings. Decide if guests will take their cookies home in tins, upon paper plates, or in gift bags, and pick up extras as needed.
Make a list for any other party necessities, such as hot apple cider, cocoa, mulled wine, or party decorations. Gather supplies such as cookie cutters in festive shapes like gingerbread men, snowmen, and Christmas trees. Of course, simple circular cookies without the need for cookie cutters will do just fine, especially if guests prefer to focus all their attention on decorating.
Bake the Cookies
If you are hosting an exchange and not a baking party, bake your cookies before your guests arrive. Gather and prepare any other snacks and beverages. If you are working with one oven for multiple batches of cookies, plan other snacks accordingly. There’s nothing wrong with buying pre-made snack trays, especially if it reduces pre-party stress.
Prep Your Space
If you are baking at your place, clear the kitchen counter, island, table, and dining room so that everyone can spread out comfortably as they decorate cookies. Whether the group is baking from scratch or using premade cookie dough, put down wax paper so things don’t get too messy. Hand each guest an apron and a chef’s hat for fun!
If you are only hosting an exchange, make sure your home is party-ready. Clear clutter. Light warmly scented candles in the bathroom. Make sure there is enough room for both seated and standing mingling, and enough room to park for those arriving by car.
Create A Holiday Playlist
As folks get to work at the cookie decorating station, Christmas carols playing in the background will set the scene. Everyone will feel like elves in Santa’s workshop decorating cookies to the melodies of the season. As an alternative, have a holiday movie playing in the background.
Select a premade holiday playlist or make your own! Fill it with upbeat tunes to keep the party mood light. Make it large enough so it’s not repetitive. Once the decorating work is complete and you transition to the end of the party, switch to a jazzy holiday instrumental playlist for a more mellow mood.
Prepare Additional Activities
While the cookies are baking, consider offering an additional activity to keep guests engaged. Children, in particular, will appreciate a fun diversion to channel their energy. Meanwhile, adults can relish the festive ambiance, sipping tea or wine by your beautifully adorned Christmas tree.
Put on a classic Christmas movie for kids and have them make paper snowflakes. You can also encourage them to go caroling (with an adult chaperone) around the cul-de-sac or apartment complex. This is a chance for the host to kick back and relax, too!
If you’re planning a baking class party, you and your group might like to go to dinner beforehand. That way, you will all arrive energized and ready to roll up your sleeves. And you’ll certainly be ready for dessert by the end of the lesson!
Party Favors or No Party Favors?
When you throw a cookie baking party, the activity doubles as the party favor! Whether they bake or exchange them, guests will bring home cookies. This way, the host is not pressured to put together gift bags full of party favors. But if you have time to spare and want to go above and beyond, party favors are the icing on the cake (so to speak) of a cookie party.
Appropriate party favors are Christmas tree ornaments, packets of instant cocoa, or cookie cutters in Christmas shapes. Put three to five small items in a goodie bag, or have a bowl of favors by the door with a sign that says “Take one.” Doing this will allow you to skip the step of assembling a goodie bag.
Follow Up with a Christmas Card
Another optional final touch to your Christmas cookie party is to follow up with a Christmas card. This is also the perfect way to stay in touch with those you invited but couldn’t attend. It may feature a photo of your family with an update on the past year. Your Christmas card may be simple with no photo, thanking them for coming and wishing them well for the new year.
Sending a Christmas card is always a classy move for friends, extended family, and coworkers. Plus, it has a dual functionality: a thank you note and a Christmas card combined. If your initial invitation was by email, send an emailed Christmas/thank you message.
Cooking Classes and Private Events from CocuSocial
Whether baking at home or hosting an exchange, a Christmas cookie party requires a lot of planning and preparation. Let CocuSocial take some stress off your plate during the busy holiday season. Our highly skilled and enthusiastic chefs teach baking classes in NYC and beyond to groups in person and online.
You can learn from the best at one of our cooking classes in NYC or host your private event at a unique venue near you. Book your reservation today.