How to Safely Ship Christmas Cookies and Holiday Treats

Don't send a box of crumbled cookies to your loved ones. Instead, follow these tips to ensure everything arrives just as intended.

How to Ship Holiday Treats
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Show: HGTV Happy

How do you show someone you love them and are thinking about them this Christmas, even when you’re far away? Send them a box of delicious holiday treats, of course. We’ve taken the guesswork out of shipping Christmas cookies and other holiday treats, so you can feel fully confident that they are arriving just as you sent them.

Materials Needed

  • shipping box
  • packing tape
  • holiday treats
  • clean chip canister
  • wrapping paper
  • red card stock
  • scissors
  • gift tag
  • twine
  • double-sided tape
  • plastic wrap
  • parchment paper
  • festive twine
  • berry basket
  • shredded paper
  • soup container

Choose Your Treats

First off, it’s important to set yourself up for success. When shipping cookies, the type of cookies matters more than the packaging itself. Skip cookies with sharp, breakable edges, sticky and gooey treats, thin, delicate cookies or treats that require refrigeration (Images 1-3). Instead, opt for sturdy, uniformly shaped treats with long shelf lives like slice-and-bake cookies (Images 4 & 5).

Package Slice-and-Bake Cookies

Next, it’s time to package up your treats. A clean chip canister is a perfect vessel for stacking slice-and-bake cookies and can easily be dressed up for the holidays using wrapping paper. Simply cut the paper to size, wrap around the canister and hold it in place using double-sided tape (Image 1). Attach a paper ribbon in the same fashion, then place a tag on the can using twine (Images 2 & 3). To keep the cookies fresh, pre-stack them and wrap tightly with plastic wrap before sliding in the canister (Image 4). A layer of parchment tied off with festive twine provides further protection while adding a seasonal touch (Image 5).

Package Decorated Cookies

For decorated cookies, a berry basket is the perfect shipping container. Simply wrap coupled-up cookies back-to-back to protect the tops, then carefully place them in the baskets (Image 1). Fill the empty space using festive shredded paper to add a layer of extra protection and keep the cookies in place (Image 2).

Package Snack Mixes

For popcorn, candied nuts and other popular snack mixes, to-go soup containers are the perfect shipping vessel (Images 1 & 2).

Pack Box and Ship

When packing up your shipping box, you’ll want a lot of shredded paper to keep the contents from jostling around. Start by filling up the box about halfway with the paper, then place the contents on top (Image 1). Once filled, top off the box with more shredded paper, then place your Christmas card on top (Image 2). All that’s left to do is address the box and send these tasty treats on their way!

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