10.01.2010

Book Exchange Party + Freebie

I've been thinking about this party since last spring.  When my best friend Mac suggested we throw a party together with our other best friend Chelle, I knew this would be the perfect theme.  Chelle is a graphic designer (who I'm trying to convince to open an etsy site) and Mac has great taste in decorating and is the most awesome baker ever - as one guest said when "our powers combine parties happen" - ha ha ha.

The idea of the party is to bring a book to exchange with someone else.  We had the guests fill out this book plate (which we sent with the invite) and place it inside the book that they were giving away.



The book table decor.  Behind the table are garlands strung with book pages and circles of scrapbook paper.
We gave book bags with a book journal and book marks to each guest.  We played a little literature quiz that Chelle created, really cute and surprising how much you forget! For the actual book exchange we had each guest write their name on a piece of paper and then everyone drew another person's name to see whose book you would get.  We had all the guests wrap their books before coming and so we each took turns unwrapping them and seeing what book we received.  That created a lot of conversation and some of the guests left with a list of new books they "needed" to read.

Of course no party is complete with out delicious food:

 I created the food labels from this card catalog generator.

 We did a soup and grilled cheese sandwich buffet.  The grilled cheeses were to die for - parmesan sourdough bread from great harvest yum!  We cooked them on the George Foreman grill which made it super quick and easy!
 Mac made the deserts, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - her own recipe! Chocolate cupcakes with gnash centers and cookie dough truffles - heaven.
Water bottles wrapped in paper from a book.

Great party - thanks ladies!

Because we've had a lot of requests Michelle decided to give us a free download of the invite!  Just open it in photoshop and add your text!
Book Check Out-Template                                                                                                   


64 comments:

Anna said...

What an great Idea and you girls did a fabulous job of course! I loved the journals and all the labels. Great idea to do soup and sandwishes such a cozy dinner since reading is always cozy!
Such a talented sister I have!

Wright's said...

You always throw such great parties. I love your attention to detail. I especially love your invitations. I'm partied out, but I'm keeping this in mind for someday.
Kalleen

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

what a great job, I love this idea!

Michelle Harden said...

I love that in the picture of the water bottle the page says "Holy Ghost" right for everyone to see. hee hee.
We sure do put on a great party!

Melissa B. said...

Wow! I absolutely LOVE that idea!!
I think I want to have a book exchange party!! Hmm..Yes. yes I will.. thanks for the idea!

Mystick Star said...

This is an EXCELLENT idea! I'd love to put together a party like this myself.

Christine Clemmensen said...

This is a fantastic idea! - I wanna try this :-) Thanks so much

Apryl said...

what a fabulous idea. I love it. I so want to host a book party myself. I adore the invites and book plates they are fabulous.

Hilary said...

Oh, this is such a wonderful idea. I would love to do something like this for my book group. Can you tell me where you found the book plates for the invitation or is that your own craftiness at work?

Charlotte said...

I just found your blog via Pinterest and I simply LOVE this idea! It's brilliant!

Kristen said...

I just stumbled over this and thought I'd comment since I'm hosting a book exchange party tomorrow. It's for lunch, so I sent out invites asking everyone to attend a Novel Luncheon. :) I designed all the print items, and thought I was all set, but after finding this adorable catalog card generator, I couldn't resist adding some more things just so I could label them...haha. Thanks for the post and great party!!!

The Hansens said...

would you be willing to share the invite template as a free download? We are having a book exchange at our church and I thought this would be a fun way to announce it. Thanks

Noelle said...

Love It!
Nx

Anonymous said...

This is such an amazing idea-- so, so awesome--and executed in such a stylish, elegant way. many props! and thanks for the download :) -nicole

Cannwin said...

Soo.. how do I get invited!? ;)

I love this idea!!!!

Wendy said...

I love this idea! So fun. Now I'm inspired to try it myself.

(I came here via a link on Pinterest)

Lisa said...

Omg I love this idea! I've blogged about it, and the post will be published in about a week, at http://www.elizaoverthemoon.blogspot.com

{autie} said...

love it! I totally want to throw one! what a fun and unique idea!

Peppermint_Patt said...

Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I love this idea! I am desperately needing a mom's only night and this is the perfect thing to do! Thanks so much for sharing!

My Chic My Way said...

Great idea ladies!!!

Geek+Nerd said...

This is a fabulous party idea - I love it!

*katie said...

Absolutely love this! We'll definitely be doing this for a RS activity! I've spent most of the afternoon re-creating everything in Photoshop. Pretty impressed with myself but more so with you cute girls and your creativity! Thanks for sharing with all of us!

Rikelle said...

Love this party. Everything looks fabulous. You've inspired me, thank you!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

How adorable!! I would love to put on this type of party...I have a few friends that are pretty big readers, so I think it would be enjoyable. Thanks for the idea.

-Lauren

Lorelei said...

What a great idea! I would love to go a party like this. You are so clever!!

Kathy Leerskov said...

Oh Wow! You are so creative and fun. Next time I want an invite ;)

Craft That Party said...

Love this invitation-- can I feature it my blog?

Lexilooo said...

I really adore this idea, and think I need to host my own!

SoSoBella said...

what a great event. love it all!!

Colleen - the AmAzINg Mrs. B said...

Absolutely adorable! Thank you for your generosity in sharing this great idea with all of us :-)

JeJeweled said...

Saw this on Pinterest. What an adorable idea! Love it.

becky@purposefulhomemaking.com said...

Thanks! We did a book party exchange. I'll be posting it on my blog and linking up to you soon!
Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

I love this idea and am thinking of hosting a party, but I'm curious what you would do if someone received a book they'd already read?

Annie Foreman said...

Can you put a link for the other items to download (i.e. book plate, Dr. Sueuss quote, etc.)? Love this idea!!! Thanks so much!

vicky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!!!! Everything you did - the cards, the food, the gift station... everything is so beautiful! Fantastic!

Lesley
http://byporchlight.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

LOVE this cute idea. I am for sure doing this one. One question, does your friend have a copy of the literature quiz she would share? Thank You, gelswood@aol.com

Unknown said...

I know that this is an older blog post, and I hope that you are still monitoring it... but I was really wanting to find out where you got the book plates at, or what card stock did you use to create them. My girlfriend and I want to throw a similar party and she absolutely loves those book plates.

I am referring to the ones that you included with the invitation.

HikingWithLittles said...

I love this idea!! We already got some library cards online to make the invites, but where di you get the bookplate cards?

terese said...

I love it. What a great idea! Thanks for showing all of the details.

alybow said...

Thanks you for sharing your invite- It's adorable

Marsha G. Leblanc said...

Great selection! It's hard for me to pick a favorite out of these.

Omaha Public Library said...

Better late than never! Nearly 3 years after this originally posted, a book party is still an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for SHARING your great idea! Some of us aren't great at being creative - so we appreciate your sharing heart!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this! Thanks for the post.

www.aspoolofthread.etsy.com
www.amyroachsenter.blogspot.com

Megan W said...

Is there another way to personalize and print this? I would really like to use this for my party, but I do not have Photoshop.

Thanks!

Sarah Jackman said...

Yes, I now use Gimp- it's a free program. It's similar to photoshop. Lots of tutorials on YouTube to help you use it too.

Christian said...

I like your sharing party idea :) It's time to start a exchange party in germany

Katherine Krige said...

Definitely a fabulous idea. I am in a book club where we suggest books, but this might be a fun thing for our end of year planning party. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Book Lovers are we! This is one splendid idea and I cannot wait to host a party. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

HOW DO I GET THE FONT TO MOVE AT AN ANGLE?

Becca McCallum said...

Thank-you so much for the link to that card-catalogue generator! A really great resource.

Kelly Wheatley said...

This is such a cute idea for a party! Would love to share this on our blog, if that is fine with you?

Jarom & Marisa said...

Is there any way the template for the invitation is still available? It says it is no longer available through the link. We are doing a book exchange and I have been searching for a library card invitation template. Any help would be so appreciated. Such a cute idea! Thanks!!
Marisa
Epperson.marisa@gmail.com

Lyndsay said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unthought Known said...

Hi

Gorgeous work. Is there a way this wonderful template is still available? I am hosting a book swap in two days and I absolutely love this design. Not to mention everything about the party that went up here. I will be scrambling to get even half as much done. deyvangi@gmail.com.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I love this party idea. Would it be possible to send me the invitation template? My friends and I do a "no-book book club" and a book swap would be a perfect idea before we take a summer hiatus. kendrapirk@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Such a darling invitation! Would you be willing to email me the invitation template? The link from your blog is no longer working. Thanks! veatermi@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I know this is old, but I could really use this template for a party I'm throwing later. The link doesn't work anymore. Could I get that, please?

lauren.chase11@yahoo.com

Lauren Chase

Kit said...

Hi, I also understand this is old, but every pinterest post that has these lovely invitations leads me back here, and the link isn't working. Even if we could just get the image of the blank document it would be helpful. Please!!

Sue said...

I don’t know if this is still being monitored but I would LOVE a copy of the “Literature Quiz” your friend used.
I throw all kinds of themed parties for friends and am always looking for ideas and suggestions.
Thank you for listening.
Laurahillgray@gmail.com

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