Holiday Cookie EXCHANGE Party... This party works nicely as a "Ladies Night Out" party, early in December with as little as 6 guests or as many as you can accommodate. It also can be a fun mother/daughter event. I have heard about Holiday Cookie Baking Parties, but what I do is host a Cookie Exchange Party. I print the invitations from my computer using festive clip art and the wording is ....The best holiday memories are often made of good friends, good food, and a little slice of time together. Please join us for hors d'oeuvres and cocktails (OR YOU CAN SAY GOURMET COFFEE AND FANCY DESSERTS) at a Holiday Cookie Exchange ( date & time ) Please bring 3 dozen of your favorite home baked cookies to exchange...anything, but chocolate chip! This way you don't end up with everyone bringing chocolate chip cookies.  Its also nice once you find out how many are coming to ask your guests to bring enough copies of the recipe of their cookie for everyone. What your job as the hostess is, is to make or buy containers for your guests to take their cookies home in.  It can be a decorated shoe box, a large holiday tin, a plastic tray with colored cellophane, a plastic container decorated with stenciling....whatever you have the time to do. What I like to do is go to my local craft store and purchase enough cookie tins for everyone.  This way, they stay a little fresher and longer than the other options, and then they have the tin to keep! Once everyone arrives, you simply arrange all of their cookies on a large table and place the copies of the recipe out in front of the platter so the guests know what each type is.  Then simply enjoy mingling with your guests...have some wine and hors d'oeuvres, or serve flavored coffees and fancy desserts and have fun! One game I like to play is Guess that Gadget. You just gather maybe 10 or 15 different household or kitchen gadgets in a bag and give everyone paper and a pen. One by one you pull out a utensil and have them each guess what it is and what its used for...whoever gets the most answers right wins. I have given away bottles of wine, cookie scented candles and flowers as prizes or a gift bag of doubles of the actual gadgets (new) that I picked up at the dollar store.  If you really want to go all out, you can make "goodie bags" for your guests. I get a medium sized gift bag and fill it with an apron, a few cookie cutters, mini rolling pin or extra kitchen/cooking gadgets (measuring spoons etc) a cookie scented candle, sprinkles, blank recipe cards and a spatula! Who said women don't like getting goodie bags? Now...on to the exchanging! Ask all the guests to join you in the room where you have all of the cookies displayed. Hand them each a cookie tin ( or whatever it is you are using) and instruct them to choose any 3 combinations of any of the cookies on the table...totaling 36 cookies. Remind them to take the recipe cards as well.  It really is a fun way to get together for the holidays and share some great cookie recipes too!