Holiday baking schedule maker
A kitchen that smells like gingerbread should feel like the best part of December, not a deadline. List what you want to bake, how many batches, and how each one keeps, and get a day-by-day plan that fits your oven and the hours you have. Free, no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser.
1. Your days
2. What you are baking
Five example recipes to start; change them to yours. Trays a batch and minutes a tray are on your recipe card.
Your baking schedule
Twelve Little Joys: try it free
Twelve small Christmas rituals for the whole family, one a day, with a little village that lights up as you go. Most take 10 to 20 minutes and need no supplies.
Free tool: 12 days of Christmas activity picker, one family activity a day for your kids' ages and time.
Plan the rest of the season
The schedule sorts the oven. The planners hold everything around it: the cookie swap sign-up, the holiday dinner timeline and who is coming.
RSVPs, cookie sign-up, how many to bake, allergy flags and printable labels in one spreadsheet.
See it on Etsy Details
Guests, dishes, oven times and a day-by-day plan, from ordering the roast to carving it.
See it on Etsy Details
A finished holiday dinner plan for 6, 12 or 24 guests with a kitchen timeline in 15-minute steps.
See it on Etsy Details
More: the free cookie exchange calculator, how to host a cookie exchange and the party food calculator.
Holiday baking questions
How far ahead can I bake Christmas cookies?
Most butter, sugar, gingerbread and drop cookies freeze well, baked or as dough, so they can be made a few weeks ahead. Crisp cookies like shortbread keep about a week in an airtight tin. Anything with fresh cream, and soft breads like cinnamon rolls, are best in the last day or two. Set how each recipe keeps and the schedule places it for you.
How does the schedule decide what to bake when?
It puts the recipes that are best fresh in the last two days, the ones that keep in a tin early in the last week, and the ones that freeze in your earliest baking days, so your busiest baking happens weeks before the holiday rush. No day goes over the hours you set.
How is the baking time worked out?
Each batch counts your mixing time plus its trays: with one oven and two trays at a time, a three-tray batch takes two rounds in the oven. It is an estimate for planning, so leave a little slack on busy evenings.
What if it says a batch did not fit?
There is not enough oven time between your first baking day and the day you need everything. Start a few days earlier, add an hour to each baking day, move a recipe to freeze ahead, or bake fewer batches.
How do I thaw frozen cookies?
Leave them in their closed container at room temperature for a few hours, or overnight, before you open it. The schedule adds a reminder the day before.
Does this save my list?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. Print the schedule before you close the page.