How to host a brunch at home

Finding inspiration

I keep all of my old Real Simple magazines and use them and Pinterest for inspiration. Your brunch doesn’t need a theme, but an overall feel for the party will help tie everything together, whether it’s a color scheme, florals or greenery or more apparent theme like tea party, Bubbles & Brunch, a seasonal theme, or something totally fun like a decades themed brunch.

Don’t waste too much time on this part – otherwise you can find yourself in a deep dark 100-hour-long Pinterest hole.

Guest list

Decide how big or small you’d like your brunch to be – keep in mind intimate gatherings often pack a bigger punch than large soires because you have a chance to really sit and talk with everyone, but what’s great about larger events at home is that guests can roam around and pick and choose where they sit and whom they sit with, so either way, you can’t go wrong.

Set your list and send invitations – if it’s a more casual affair with guests who check email, a free email invite is a great way to go, though I always love receiving mail – you can’t go with a printed invite.

Menu planning

Scan through your inspiration board, magazine clippings, and recipe cards to decide on a menu. As a good rule of thumb, choose an egg dish (casserole, quiche, egg cups), a more substantial dish (either sweet or savory), something with fruit, and smaller filler sides (muffins, macaroons, mini brownies). It’s great to incorporate breakfast and lunch foods too! Adding a simple cucumber sandwich or avocado toast bar is an easy way to incorporate lunch foods into your menu.

My menu included:

• Quichlettes
• French toast casserole
• Fruit tart
• Muffins
• Sangria punch
• Coffee/tea selection
• Candied bacon

Decor & special touch

You don’t need to go overboard – honestly, I think it’s always best to play into your home’s natural decor and enhance with pretty servingware, florals, candles, and greenery.

I always like to include an extra little touch for guests to experience or take home; for this brunch, I spray painted wishbone ornaments and put them with the place settings. Before everyone ate, I read them a little a little blurb about wishbones, their significance, and how it will bring them good fortune.

Setting the table

Set the table the night before (I set mine two days before); it’s a seemingly simple task that is so much nicer to have done before the day of the party. I chose one of my China sets, gold silverware (SUPER cheap from Target), and since i love mixing and matching, I put out all different tea cups and saucers.

The day before

1. Set your table and your decor.
2. Prep as much food as possible – for my menu, I was able to make the French toast casserole, granola crust for the fruit tart, quiche mixture, and washed all my fruit. This took me a few hours the day before, saving lots of time, mess, and stress the day of the brunch.
3. Write a schedule – look at what items you need to bake, at what temps, and for how long. Write out a simple guide telling you what time to pre-heat the oven, which items go in at what time, etc.

Enjoy!

Before your guests arrive, get yourself ready at least a half hour before their arrival; finish up any spot cleaning, including the guest’s washroom, clean counters, and empty the sink.

Put on some music, don’t stress, and have fun! Make sure your guests all know one another, that you introduce them if necessary, and get them or direct them to drinks upon arrival.

Lasting thoughts

Feel free to leave me your questions, commments, or favorite tips on hosting parties in the comments below!