FORT WAYNE, IND. ? The party invitation was not like any she’d received before. It was all there in red and green: the time, date, place – and price of admission.

“I’m supposed to bring four dozen cookies!” said the newly married professional, who lives in a Fort Wayne, Ind.-area apartment. “My neighbor asked me to come.”

It’s called a cookie exchange or cookie walk, and it’s all the rage among people whose overstuffed Dayminders render them unable to produce the expected smorgasbord of holiday sweets.

The concept is simple: Each guest brings one kind of cookie and leaves with a variety. In a single evening and with very little effort, a homemaker can amass a cookie stash that would have taken her grandmother weeks to bake, frost and decorate.

A cookie exchange isn’t hard to plan or pull off. In fact, clever co-workers have been known to have them in the conference room during their lunch hours.

Ready to have your own? Here are sure-fire success strategies, culled from local exchangers, the Internet and several cookie cookbooks.

• Make up a guest list. Inviting more people means more cookie varieties, but it also means everybody has to bake larger quantities. Strike a good balance.
• Select a convenient party time and date close to Christmas. Remember that weekends during the holiday season get booked up quickly. Evenings may work better.
• Issue invitations. If there’s enough time for RSVPs, you can mail out homemade ones. If time is tight, call or e-mail and ask for a yes or no on the spot.
• Ask each guest to bring one variety of homemade cookie. Store-bought ones are not allowed. Also, clearly specify how many cookies each guest is supposed to bring :quot; for six or fewer people, figure on requesting a dozen cookies per person. For 12 people, you could get by with eight cookies per person. Ask guests to divide and package cookies according to the number of guests.
• When confirming attendance, make sure no one is duplicating recipes. Remember, variety is the whole point of having an exchange.
• Instruct each exchanger to make copies of his or her cookie recipe. Make sure there are enough copies that each guest can have one.
• Create a convenient place for the exchange to take place. Clear off a large table, dress it in holiday finery and set out place cards for each cookie variety. Put the recipes next to the appropriate cookies.
• Plan snacks and decorations. Although there’s a practical purpose for gathering, there’s no reason the event shouldn’t be fun. Set up the Christmas tree, haul out the holiday music and serve something besides cookies. How about a light luncheon, an old-fashioned tea party or savory appetizers with wine?