Tips for hosting a book club & free cute Victorian girls bookish printables

Cute victorian girls, books, cupcakes, and a beautiful shade of forest green. Everything you need for your next book club meeting, plus some tips to help you run the event, some recipe ideas, and a fun bookish game.

If you don’t have a regular book club, you can use these to host a one-off book exchange. Never heard of those before? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, I only came across them a while ago. Book exchange parties are a fantastic way to get new books without having to open up the wallet, something we can all get behind!

All of these are .png file in an A4 size. If you are from a country that doesn’t use A4, don’t worry! Because the files are images, you can adjust the size to your page. To download the full size image, just click on each thumbnail.

None of the images have my logo or name. Use them freely, but please don’t redistribute. If you like them, just share a link!

Navigation:

• hosting tips
• food tips
• food ideas
• invitation cards
• cupcake toppers (plus cases and decoration ideas)
• thank you & gift tags
• book game

Tips for hosting a book club or book exchange party

Hosting a book-related event doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, it shouldn’t be stressful at all! You’re doing it for fun, to have a good time with others, and share your love of books.

• Be clear about the kinds of books that will be featured. Better to be direct from the beginning, than struggle with disagreements down the line.
• Have clear rules for swapping books (for an exchange) or choosing the next book (for a book club).
• Be careful about who you invite and the books that are featured. If books are going to deal with tricky or triggering topics, you should consider if people might be affected by them and able to deal with them in a group setting.
• You don’t need to meet at a house! You could hire an affordable venue or meet at a local library or cafe. In both cases, let them know beforehand they should expect a group. You will find most small cafes will accommodate happily and might even provide special food or a dedicated space for free.
• If you’re hosting a book club, plan meetings close enough that people won’t forget, but spaced enough that everyone will have time to find and read the book.
• Agree to disagree! Not everyone will think the same about the books, don’t ruin friendships over different opinions.
• Have a leader that can bring some order when everyone starts getting too excited or conversation fizzles out. It’s usually best to have different people take on this role every time you meet to avoid burnout and hard feelings.
• Relax and have fun!

Things to keep in mind when planning food and drink for a book club meeting

Food and drink are always important when you are meeting with people. If you are renting a space or going to somewhere like a library, make sure you are allowed to bring food. If you’re going to a cafe or somewhere else that serves food, tell them before hand that your group will be coming and if possible pre-order the food.

And if you’re home, don’t forget that you don’t have to cook at all! You can buy pre-made food or snacks and focus on the meeting instead.

When it comes to food the most important thing is to make sure you ask everyone about food allergies, intolerances, and dietary choices and have options for everyone. Don’t expect people to tell you, some may think you know already, others may forget to tell you, and others might choose to not say anything and skip eating to avoid making extra work for you.

Plan for some eating, drinking, and catching up time either before or after the discussion starts. And have some easy-to-grab one-bite snacks on the table during the discussion.

If you want to have some fun, you could prepare food that ties-in with the book. Maybe something from the location the book is set in, the place the author comes from, or a food mentioned in the book.

Ideas for food you can serve at a book club or book exchange party

The main thing to remember is to make food that is: bite-size, not too dirty, and easy to make ahead.

• Breadsticks
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Cubed cheese
• Cupcakes
• Dumplings
• Flavoured nuts
• Fruit chips
• Macarons
• Meatballs
• Mini quiches
• Mini sweet or savoury tarts
• Muffins
• Olives
• Sushi
• Popcorn
• Pre-cut fruit
• Pretzels
• Small empanadas
• Small pastries

And some foods to avoid:

• Anything with sauce
• Dips
• Food that has to be eaten piping hot or frozen
• Anything oily
• Anything covered in sugar or something sticky
• Anything that you need a spoon to eat

Book club and book exchange printable invitations

One set of cards is for a book club invitation, and the other for a book exchange invitation. Both have space for filling in a time and location, and you can choose if you prefer the cute Victorian girls in colour or black and white. Click on each image to download.

Printable book cupcake toppers

These cupcake toppers come in black and white and colour, and match the invitations. To use them, you can print them in cardstock and cut. I like to stick them to cocktail sticks so they don’t get dirty and people can take them home with them. Click on the images to download.

Match you cupcake case perfectly

You don’t have to match your cupcake case to your topper. But, if you are like me, you like things to be matchy-matchy and just a little bit extra.

You can probably find all of these (or very similar) in your local area. They are more for inspiration than anything else!

Prettify your cupcakes with these edible decorations

I am the kind of person who tends to go over the top with sprinkles (I actually always have 2 or 3 different kinds at home all the time to use on ice-cream, porridge, pancakes…).

If you want to decorate your cupcakes in a way that matches the toppers, these are the kind of products you could use. Like before, use as inspiration.

Bookish ‘thank you’ & gift tags

Download by clicking on each image.

Printable game for your book party

It’s not easy to find fun games for adults. Fun book-related games for adults? Almost impossible.

This is a classic ‘guess the book’ game that kids usually play but with a twist. All the books featured are classics you probably read when you were at school. But do you remember them? Playing is the only way to find out!

Click on each image to download, the first one is the questions, the second one is the answer.