gingerbread house cookies with candy toppings

Make It Holiday!

The Best Cookie Decorating Kits

We love cookie decorating as a holiday tradition, except for baking. Skip straight to the art project (and sugar high) with the best cookie decorating kits.

Photography: Katie Covington

Even if you're usually down to bake from scratch, it can feel like one too many steps during the holidays when the main event is the cookie decorating. So whether you're hosting a family-friendly Christmas party or spending a cozy afternoon at home, these cookie decorating kits will save you a bit of bandwidth without losing any of the holiday magic.

Pro-tip to control the chaos and winter germs: Place cookies for each kid on a quarter sheet pan along with individual prep bowls full of sprinkles and decorative toppings.

Sweet Sweater Cookie Kit

Etsy has an endless array of kits available for cookie decorating–including this Miami-based bakery that allows you to choose a delivery date right before your event. There is something for any mini with themes like Frozen, surfing Santas, and this cozy winter version. Each kit include twelve cookies, four royal icing decorating bags, and sprinkles.

Classic Christmas Sugar Cookie Kit

William-Sonoma is known for slice-and-bake cookies and mixes but don't sleep on their kids DIY cookie kit that includes a dozen fresh-baked vanilla sugar cookies shaped like trees, ornaments, and mittens, along with royal icing in classic holiday colors, sparkling sugars, and colorful sprinkles.

Christmas sugar cookie kit with snowflakes and trees

A Stack of Sparkling Stars

New York-based Red Velvet Bakery simplifies baking with kits of pre-mixed ingredients that are ready to bake, perfect if you'd like to bake the cookies together. Make gingersnaps that kids can dip in white chocolate, Linzer cookies with a mini heart cutter, or this sugar cookie tree you can stack together.

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookie Kit

Erin McKenna's Bakery (formerly known as the beloved Lower East Side Babycakes NYC) aims to please anyone with allergies and dietary restrictions. Her vegan and gluten-free kits serves twelve and includes cookies and icing, available in gingerbread people or dreidel-shaped sugar cookies.

The Mess-Free Cookie Kit

Eleni's is a twenty-year-old Chelsea Market institution. Her now-signature Color Me! cookies debuted during a playdate party for her daughter and kids as young as two are delighted with the delicious no-mess craft hour. Each tin includes ten hand-iced Christmas-themed cookies and five edible ink markers. Their kitchen is a tree nut-free facility so they are safe to bring to school or for kids with allergens.

Eleni's holiday cookie kit with edible markets

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread houses add a whole new dimension to holiday cookie decorating. Kids use candy to construct gumdrop and sprinkle worlds, which some may find more easier than icing. To win the fight against gravity, put the cookie pieces together with icing the night before and let them dry before kids decorate them. Trader Joes, Wilton, and Target all have easy gingerbread kits you can pick up online or in person.

The Perfect Chewy Cookie Kit

Insomnia's kit comes with 12 gingerbread, icing for spreading, gumdrops, mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes, and cookie cutters. The dorm room favorite is less photo-ready than other kits but deliciously messy in the hands of minis and perfect for Team Chewy.