Clothes call: What to wear to the holiday cookie exchange

Receive an invitation to a time-honored cookie exchange or to a bake day with family and friends? Pull out that secret recipe for your great grandmother’s fudge, throw on a darling apron or festive outfit and (ginger)snap to it!

Here are some fun outfits to wear to cookie exchanges or holiday bake days to look as sweet as the goodies that are up for grabs.

Bake day

Aprons are getting so darn cute we wish they could double as dresses. Bake day, of course, is a great excuse to flaunt an apron for an audience greater than your begging dog, who tends to be your regular kitchen companion. Throw on your favorite pair of denim, a long T-shirt with sleeves that can roll up and a fun apron.

A few of our faves: The Butterfly Field apron, $32, above, from Anthropologie, which is a cheerful floral apron that be worn year-round, or, for festive occasions, we like Mrs. and Little Miss Claus aprons, $19.95 to $24.95 from Pier 1 Imports, to fit the whole Christmas workshop theme of bake day.

A few fashion-meets-kitchen tips: Avoid black because flour will be flying. Also, steer clear of fuzzy sweaters because you don’t want any threads shedding in your dough mixtures!

Cookie exchange

Pssst! Sweater ponchos are in major style this winter. Now, all of our winter-time dreams have come true, meaning that we can basically swathe ourselves in a blanket and call it high fashion. We’re loving the poncho trend for cookie exchanges because it can hide our tummies (we’ll see you after the New Year, tighter fitting tops). Balance out a poncho with some tighter fitting bottoms—like your skinny jeans or a pair of leggings—and finish off with a pair of boots. We spotted this waffle-knit turtleneck poncho sweater in cream or rose, $27.90, above, from Forever 21. Or, opt for an oversized sweater. We’re totally partial to Fair Isle for the holiday season, like this Diamond Fair Isle sweater, $98 at J. Crew.

Cookie drop

So you’ve got a kitchen full of cookies—plus, the plate that is on reserve for the special guest (Santa, of course!). Package up some of those extra treats and deliver them to the neighbors. They’ll love the sweet gesture. Bring along your lil’ elves and dress them in some adorably festive duds. We’re loving this Old Navy girl’s embellished jersey dress, $17, in a pretty jute green color and festooned with gems. For boys, graphic sweaters, $15 at Old Navy, will have him handsome for the holidays. We find this boy’s graphic sweater, above, with a faux plaid tie to be especially charming.