Is there anything better than starting your day surrounded by friends, breakfast foods, and mimosas? Of course, we’re talking about brunch. You may think hosting a brunch seems stressful and high-maintenance, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. To prove it, here are our best tips for hosting the ultimate brunch.
Plan Your Menu
We can’t stress enough just how important it is to plan your menu ahead of time. Planning means you’ll be sure to have all the ingredients and enough food for everybody, and if any guests have food allergies, you risk serving them something they can’t eat. If you’re worried you’ll be up late the night before and early that morning to prepare food, you can rest easy. Pastries can be baked, frozen, and thawed out for your brunch, and breakfast casseroles can be ahead of time and thrown into the oven in the morning.
Don’t Forget the Drinks
What’s a brunch without a bubbly drink or two? Of course, you can’t go wrong with a classic mimosa made of orange juice and champagne, but there are other fun brunch drinks like this Grapefruit Sunrise Cocktail or this Grapefruit and Rosemary Paloma. Mocktails are also a fun, trendy option, especially if some of your guests bring their kiddos.
Serve Yourself
Themed self-serve bars allow guests to customize their food and drinks while they mingle. And as a bonus, you get to create an attractive display. There are several ways you can incorporate a self-serve bar into your brunch, including a self-service coffee bar, parfait bar, or bagel bar.
Serveware, But Make It Fashion
To class up your brunch, nix any cartons or containers. Serving donuts? Nab a multi-tier platter and arrange your donuts on that. Serving juice? Consider a glass decanter or vintage pitcher. Have a rainbow of fresh fruit? Make kabobs and place them in a vase so guests can easily grab them. Even water can be served in a glass carafe.
Center of Attention
Let’s talk centerpieces. The goal is to have fun but keep it light and stress-free. Our go-to decor is fresh flowers in an array of vessels from secondhand shops. Dessert stands with bagels or pastries totally count as decoration, and you can up the ante by making labels for your displays. Candles and twinkly lights create a cozy ambiance; cocktail glitter makes any drink more aesthetically pleasing; and if your table feels a little bare, never underestimate the power of a table runner. The point is your brunch can be bougie on a budget.
Conversationalists
Whether your brunch group has known each other for years or you’re introducing different friend groups, there is bound to be a lull in the conversation. Skip the awkward silence and have conversation starters at each seat to avoid the inevitable. Here are some good Go-tos:
- What was the best vacation you’ve ever been on?
- If you could invite three guests to dinner, living or dead, who would they be and why?
- What is the best meal you’ve ever eaten?
Have Fun
Relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, grab a drink, and enjoy brunch with the people that mean the most to you – and new ones!