Cookie Swap Planner
Enter how many swappers and how many dozens each brings. The planner gives the table total, what everyone takes home, and the flavor-category count that keeps four gingerbread batches from happening.
A cookie swap works on one rule: everyone bakes a pile of ONE flavor, one cookie per swapper - so twelve people go home with twelve varieties without anyone baking twelve kinds. The host job is the sign-up sheet, and the math on this page sizes it.
How to use
- Swapper count first - confirm before you finalize the sign-up.
- Dozens each brings: six dozen is the classic swap standard for a dozen-ish group.
- Read the category count: that is how many flavor groups your sign-up sheet should lock.
Frequently asked questions
How many cookies do you bring to a cookie swap?
The standard is six dozen of one flavor for a dozen-person swap - one cookie per swapper per variety, plus the host. For other group sizes the rule scales: dozens per person usually stays fixed while the table total moves with the head count.
How does a cookie swap work?
Each baker brings dozens of a single flavor, arranged one cookie per guest; everyone circles the table filling a box with one of each kind and leaves with as many cookies as they brought - but a dozen different flavors. The planner sizes the table and the sign-up sheet.
How do I stop duplicate flavors at a swap?
A sign-up sheet with locked categories: chocolate, spiced, decorated and bar covers most groups - the calculator gives the category count for yours. An allergen column for nuts is the second thing the sheet is for.
What if more people want to come?
Cap by table math, not goodwill: past roughly fifteen swappers the variety still works but the circle stops being a party. Split into two swaps or move to a drop-off format - the take-home math on this page still holds either way.