For Troop Leaders and Troop Cookie Managers

For Community-Area Product Leaders

Retail Spotlight

Cookie Booths are a great way to boost Girl Scout visibility, and they're a lot of fun! Be sure to check out the Cookie Booth Guide and the Online Cookie Systems Guide for steps on managing booths in Smart Cookies and Digital Cookie.

The first big deadline is the Cookie Booth Lottery. Booth selections open in Smart Cookies on Wednesday, January 14 at 11am. Troops may choose up to 10 timeslots and update selections until 11am on January 18. The lottery runs at 12pm, and each participating troop will receive one booth timeslot. Troop contacts will be notified by email, and staff will assist any troop that does not receive a slot before first-come, first-served rounds begin. No need to contact River Valleys, we will reach out to you.

Reminder: Do not select booths you would not want or be able to attend.

Here are the top three updates when it comes to cookie booths: 

1. Cookie Booth Lottery and First-come, First-served (FCFS) Council-Secured Booth Schedule:  

See the current schedule for lottery and first-come, first-served (FCFS) Council-secured booths below:

For each first-come, first-served (FCFS) booth round, selections close at 4pm and the next round opens at 7pm (for example, Round 1 opens at 7pm. on January 21 and closes at 4pm on January 22). Any newly secured booths will be added between 4–7 pm. and will appear in the next FCFS round. Use the Available Booth Sales Summary Report in Smart Cookies to view open timeslots and locations, and filter by location as needed. Instructions for reserving FCFS booths can be found in the Online Cookie Systems Guide for Volunteers.

2. Council-Secured Booth Partners Status

Many of our council partners like Cub Foods, area malls, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Chuck & Don’s, and Goodwill are excited to welcome us back this year. We are still confirming days/timeslots with several Walmart locations and will add them into Smart Cookies as they are approved. 

We’ll also host cookie booths at select Minnesota Frost and Wild hockey games. These are “premium booths” in the lottery, and each troop may win only one to ensure fairness at these high sales-per-hour locations. 

3. Troop-Secured Booth Requests

Interested in setting up a cookie booth with a local business? Booths arranged by your Troop are called Troop-Secured Booths, and you can now submit requests in  Smart Cookies. Requests will be reviewed before the first FCFS booth round on January 21, with many approved ahead of the Initial Order deadline on January 23. After the first review round, approvals are typically processed within three business days. Instructions are available in the Online Cookie Systems Guide for Volunteers.

Don't forget to check out our Locations-Do Not Contact List and Newly Available to Contact List which have been updated for 2026. 

Troops who participated in the gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip pre-order last October will receive an email reminder on January 9 and must enter those cases with their Initial Order in Smart Cookies. Troops that did not pre-order are limited to two cases. This variety is only guaranteed on the initial order.

If your troop missed the pre-order and needs more than two cases:

You will receive a confirmation email the week of January 26 to confirm the request was successful or alert you if we cannot fill it. 

Note: For Troops who order more than two cases of Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies and did not participate in the pre-order or complete the form to report an exception, your order may be reduced to a total of two cases.   

Cookie Rally cookie shipments will begin to arrive between January 19-January 23. The ACH to pay for the cookies will occur on January 9.

Join us at our upcoming Shop & Service Center events!

Saturday, January 17, from 10am–2pm

Saturday, January 24, from 10am–2pm

The shops will be open during all four events. Our new Cookie merchandise will be available including - Cookie Rally Patches, Cookie Sweatshirts, Cookie warm-weather gear and more! At our Camp events, attendees can meet Camp Directors, ask questions about Camp 2026 & participate in camp activities.

We hope to see you soon!

Have a question? Don't be shy!
Contact us for more information.