"When I was a young woman not yet married but living on my own, I offered to bring the pumpkin pies to my parents' house for Thanksgiving. I prepared the pies the night before but did not bake them until Thanksgiving day. Letting the filling sit in the crust overnight, it soaked into the crust, and on Thanksgiving, the crust was so tough it couldn't be cut, and mostly my pies ended up in the trash. I learned that it's OK to prepare ahead, but you should know what you are doing before you try it."