Small Church Cookie Events For Any Season

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There’s no reason to limit cookie events to holiday seasons. Check out this post for new twists on cookie events from fundraisers to bake-offs to community outreach. Perfect for small churches, each idea can be great for intergenerational events, men and women, youth, or children. Try one of these for your next family event!

Cookie Event Ideas!

Easy Set Up Cookie Walk Fundraiser

This is a great 2-hour event for a Saturday morning. This event can be done as an all-church event or a community event. (The main difference is how many cookies are needed!) Earlier in the week, volunteers make, decorate, and bring dozens and dozens of cookies to the church.

Each different type of cookie is placed on its own tray. At the event, “Cookie Walkers” use either their own containers or the ones you provide. They walk from tray to tray filling their container with beautiful and delicious cookies at a price of $5 per pound. Have pre-made containers or boxes of cookies on hand for those who may not have time to make their own selections.

This is a fantastic fundraiser idea! Use the proceeds to purchase gifts or meals for those in your community needing help during the holidays.

Saturday Holiday Cookie Bake-Off Event

Host this event on the Saturday before your Father’s Day service, Easter, Christmas Eve, or any time you want to make a Sunday event extra special.

Provide the recipe and basic ingredients for all participants to make, bake, and decorate sugar cookies. (Participants are free to bring their own recipes and/or special ingredients.) Kids are welcome to join in the fun as long as they are accompanied by an adult to help or supervise.

At the end of the day, participants can take home one dozen cookies. Once the icings are hardened, save the rest in tight sealed cookie containers or tins until you are ready to set them out for the service.

For lunch, the church could supply salad and water bottles. Let everyone know to bring their own soups or sandwiches and drinks.

Cookie Exchange Any Time Of The Year

This event can be done in two different ways. One option is to have each guest bring 2-3 dozen of the same cookie. Decide how many cookies of each type everyone gets. Participants take that number from each plate to form their own sample cookie trays.

Another option is to have each person bring enough same cookies for each person attending to get 6-12 cookies from everyone. This requires more baking but results in getting many more cookies!

Ask each participant to bring enough copies of their recipe for everyone. Hole-punch the recipes and put them into paper folders with fasteners. Provide fun stickers (or Christmas stickers if you do this event in December) and Sharpie permanent markers for your guests to decorate their cookbooks.

This event can be an excellent time for parents to bring their sons and daughters! Sign them up as individual participants, and each participant gets to bring home their own trays of cookies and personalized decorated cookbooks.

Click for more Exchange Event Ideas.

Cookie Decorating Party

Invite your guests to fellowship and enjoy decorating cookies. This is a great event to bring your unchurched friends because it is low-key and friendly. Enlist the aid of some baker friends to make dozens of sugar cookies, vanilla wafer cookies, and round gingersnaps. Provide or have your guests bring frosting, icing, edible food coloring markers, colored sugar, and baking sprinkles for the sugar cookies.

Have white chocolate wafers, chocolate wafers, and Crisco available to melt and then decorate the vanilla wafer cookies. Dip the gingersnaps halfway in a mixture of white chocolate and Crisco. Line holiday shirt boxes with wax paper for your participants to take their cookies home.

Check out Event #3 Cookie Creation Stations for a family-style event.

Cookie Delivery Outreach For Community Cheer

Enlist volunteers to bring 6 dozen decorated cookies to this community impact event.

Start with a quick icebreaker as everyone gathers and shares their favorite cookie-related memory. Next, work together to divide the cookies onto plates or cookie boxes to give away.

After all the plates are filled and covered with plastic wrap, go out in teams and deliver cookies to shut-ins, seniors, young moms, those in your congregation that might need a little cheer, emergency responders, or local businesses.

Cookie Decorating 101

Take cookie decorating to a whole new level by hosting a Cookie Decorating Workshop. Enlist the help of a local bakery to come to your church, demonstrate their skill, and share some tips. (If you don’t have a local bakery, ask some friends to do some research and practice their skills ahead of time so they can give decorating tips.)

Make sure to have enough supplies on hand so everyone can participate in creating and enjoying the sweet treats. If your budget is small, ask participants to chip in to cover the cost of supplies.

Topics in this class might include:

Dipped in chocolate ideas with gingersnaps and white chocolate
Swirled royal icing on macarons
Easy ways to decorate circle Christmas cookies
Using citrus zest on glazed cookies
Tips for using decorating sugar
Drizzled chocolate techniques and vanilla wafers
Decorating with powdered sugar

Have plenty of cookies on hand to compensate for mistakes. Participants take home their personalized decorated cookies.

Cookie Events Are The Perfect Invite For Unchurched Friends & Outreach

Cookie events provide a great way to engage almost every demographic in your group. Not only are they fabulous for your church family, but they are an easy invite to bring friends into the community too.

The benefits of cookie events go way beyond the sweet taste. Those who attend may find new favorites to add to personal family traditions. Others may enjoy conversation and connection as they chat about ingredients and their grandmother’s family recipes. Those with an artistic flair may enjoy the cookie decorating events, while those with a heart for first responders may enjoy participating in the cookie outreach.

These events are about connection, having fun, and building relationships, all while making, decorating, or delivering cookies!

Looking for something fresh and new for the holiday season?

Check out the Blue Christmas Pack & the Advent Worship Pack!