Preparation:
Assemble your favorite cookie recipes and read them through. Rely on tried-and-true favorites you've made before, embellishing old standbys for the holidays with special sprinkles, holiday shapes, or other variations.

Add two or three new cookies that interest you. Try to get a balance of types (drop, refrigerator, shaped, cut, bars), flavors (chocolate, vanilla, mint, nut, sugared), textures (soft, crisp, iced) and sizes.

Don't get too ambitious. Be realistic about how many types of cookies you want to include on your trays. Just three cookies, well-chosen, carefully prepared and presented in a special container, can make a heartwarming gift. "Plain" cookies, like Snickerdoodles, are easy to make and delicious, and they contrast well with more decadent, chocolate- and nut-laden cookies.

Make a list of all the ingredients you'll need and buy in bulk. You don't want to be running out to the store for more powdered sugar while cookies are in the oven.

Make a baking plan. You may want to devote one afternoon to preparing just the drop cookies (like Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal Raisin), another for shaped or cut cookies.

Don't try to do everything at once. Some doughs may be made well in advance and refrigerated until it's time to bake. Some cookies can be made in advance, wrapped carefully and frozen until you're ready to make up gift trays. Divide and conquer to make the job as fun and rewarding as possible.

Baking Day:
Invite a friend or a family member to help in exchange for some of the day's sweet spoils. Another set of hands can come in, well, handy, and in between the creaming, shaping and baking, there's plenty of time to catch up with a friendship.

Organize equipment and ingredients in one part of the kitchen, for preparation; set out cooling racks, spatulas and oven mitts in an area where cookies can cool; arrange a space for decoration.

Be exact. Use measuring cups and spoons to portion out ingredients, a kitchen timer to make sure you don't overbake the cookies, and an oven thermometer to ensure that the temperature is what's called for.

Storage: Store crisp cookies in a container with a loose-fitting lid so they stay crisp. Store soft cookies wrapped tightly to keep them soft. Bar cookies can be easily stored for up to a week in the pan in which they were baked, covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Store different flavored cookies in different containers.

It's a Wrap:
For the best containers, think out of the box: scour your home for boxes, cans or other containers that might be recycled to hold your baked treasures. Colored foil, holiday wrapping paper, fabric, napkins or even wallpaper can dress up the outside or inside of a worn container.

Purchase different colors and patterns of cellophane to wrap packets of 4-8 cookies. Tie each packet with a different colored ribbon or string.  Arrange an assortment of cookie packets on a plate or tray, and wrap the container itself in a large piece of cellophane, snugly fastened with ribbon.

Enquiring minds will want to know, so make sure you include a list of your gift cookies in the card. Or, attach a tiny tag or label to each cookie packet.