Plan a Pie Exchange Holiday Party

There is nothing more fun than getting together with a bunch of girlfriends to exchange recipes, ideas and laughs. Similar to a Christmas cookie exchange party, this pie exchange party, inspired by the darling postcard invitation from Pear Tree Greetings, is a fun way to pick up a quick and easy sweet for your Thanksgiving spread along with good company, too!

While you can certainly run your pie exchange party as a fun sampling with guests tasting a sliver of each pie, we opted to do something a bit different.

To destress and spend time with close girlfriends, we organized our pie exchange a few days before Thanksgiving. Then, we ran the exchange like a White Elephant - every lady took home a whole pie for her Thanksgiving table. Here's how to recreate at home!

Tips to Plan a Pie Exchange Party

Here are a few tips for you to use when planning your gathering this fall:

Send an invitation out to all of your guests at least a month in advance. This Pear Tree Greetings postcard invite is the perfect solution!

The holiday season is a busy time, so make sure all of your friends have plenty of time to prepare, and to find arrangements for kids. I like to go "girls only" for this type of party, since Moms rarely get a girls night out. If you need to, take a poll between all of your invitees to see whether a week night or weekend day/night works best!

No store bought pies allowed! The fun in the entire idea is picking something up to use at your own Thanksgiving and homemade is always more meaningful (even if you swapped with someone else!)

Have your guests bake their pies at least 2-3 days in advance. A big reason for "no shows" at a recipe exchange party is that guests didn't have time to bake their pie. Ensure you maximize your attendance by encouraging your guests to bake ahead.

How to exchange –

First, call the party to order in any fashion you wish - some hosts use a bell, others use a horn, and others simply verbalize that it's beginning. Have each guests introduce their pie and any meaningful story that goes along with it.

This is different than a cookie exchange in that there aren’t several individual cookies to choose from so you can run this like a white elephant gift exchange.

You can hand out numbers at the door (drawing randomly) and people can pick and choose as their number is called and either take a new pie or take a pie that's already been chosen.

Have guests bring their pies in a disposable container so plates and platters do not need to be sought after once the party is over.

Have guests email their pie recipe before the party if possible, or at the very least have them bring a copy with them!

RSVP as soon as you can in order to ensure that no duplicate pies are made.

Hold the cool whip or whipped cream! Meringue topping is acceptable but anything that won’t last well before Thanksgiving should not be added to the pie.

Finally, keep decor simple - fun chalkboard painted coasters double as pie labels here and a simple seasonal centerpiece we used for our Thanksgiving celebration adorned our pie display. Incorporate the seasonal decorations and fabrics you're already using to keep decorating work basic!

This post was sponsored and inspired by Pear Tree Greetings, but the great ideas come from the creative minds of our contributors, not the advertiser. Inspire yourself and visit Pear Tree for Save the dates, holiday cards and birth announcements.