My sisters, mother, and I used to have a cookie exchange every year. It was a lot of fun, but we'd all go home with ridiculous amounts of cookies. It's nice to have some -- after all, a carrot stick doesn't exactly scream holiday spirit -- but too many is just too many. We ended up canceling the tradition altogether and now we just get together for a fun girls' night.

If you're planning on baking some of your family's favorite holiday cookies this year, here are some tips for enjoying without going overboard:

• Cut your recipes in half. Fewer cookies means fewer pounds on the scale. And only make your very favorites -- nobody needs 10 different kinds of cookies.
  
• Know the difference between holiDAYS and holiMONTHS -- Fitz tells you how.
• Don't leave cookies out on a tray for everyday noshing. Only set them out on the special holidays.
  

• When baking, don't go crazy tasting cookie dough. And when you've got them in the oven pour water in the mixing bowl so you're not tempted to lick it clean.
• Substitute ingredients with healthier options when possible. For example, use applesauce instead of butter or oil, try using whole-wheat flour (or half whole-wheat and half all-purpose), and use Greek-style low-fat yogurt instead of sour cream.
  
• If you're using frosting, go easy on it. Instead of coating the whole cookie, just use a little for decoration. Or skip the frosting altogether.

And remember, when enjoying a treat -- you can eat just one. There's no rule that says holiday cookies must be eaten by the boatload. Put one cookie on a plate, make a cup of tea, eat slowly, and savor every bite.