How to Throw an Epic, Stress-Free Brunch Party
We’ve all learned that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but getting enough sleep could be more important.
Guy Beringer is the hero everyone can praise for the creation of brunch. Thanks to his creativity back in 1895, it’s now acceptable for people to roll out of bed at noon and enjoy a hearty, leisurely meal.
If you want to be the hero of your friend group, you should try hosting a brunch party. Even if your guests are still a little cranky after sleeping in, booze and pancakes make everyone merry.
Ready to start planning?
Here are 15 expert tips to help you host the best brunch party.
1. Create Elegant, Free Invitations for Your Guests
In the modern age of texting, people really appreciate receiving formal invitations. Taking the time to create a card for your guests shows that you’re
The good news is that it only takes a few minutes to create a beautiful invitation. These special brunch invitations are free, customizable, and give you the freedom to send them however you want.
You can print them at home or in a print shop to send by mail. You can also save them as a high-resolution photo to share on social media and messaging apps. One of the best features is that you can send them through email and collect all of your RSVPs online. If your guests need to know anything about the event details, be sure to include that information in the invitation. For example, let people know if the brunch will be held outside so they can dress accordingly.
2. Keep the Brunch Foods Simple Yet Customizable
If you imagine a brunch menu at a fancy restaurant or hotel, you might think of expensive salmon dishes, eggs benedict, and soufflés. While these foods are impressive, you don’t have an entire kitchen staff to help you prepare everything.
The simpler your menu is, the less stress you’ll feel. You can prepare a wide array of foods, but give your guests the option to customize their plates how they like.
Setting up several bars is a great way to make your display look impressive. A waffle bar, pancake bar, parfait bar, and toast bar are a few examples you can implement.
These foods are simple to prepare, but placing them beside various jams, butters, fruits, whipped cream, syrups, and other fixings elevates your food to a gourmet level. Remember, everyone has different taste buds, so this is the easiest way to ensure everyone is happy with their plate.
3. Cook Smarter, Not Harder
Sometimes cooks can sabotage themselves by using less effective tools. If you want to prepare a large amount of food without breaking a sweat, be sure to follow these tips.
Bacon is a breakfast meat that is notorious for being hard to cook in a pan. Instead of preparing a few slices at a time, separate the entire package and place the strips on a baking sheet.
If you bake at 350 degrees for around 10 minutes, you’ll have perfectly cooked bacon every time. You don’t even have the flip the meat halfway through.
If you don’t own a waffle maker already, make sure you buy a square one that can cook four waffles at a time. Large, circular waffles look impressive, but one is an entire meal by itself. A square waffle iron can help you prepare more food in a shorter amount of time with less ingredients.
A pancake griddle is another tool that’s worth the investment. Since you can cook all kinds of food on it, you’ll continue using it many years after your brunch party.
These griddles give you enough space to prepare several pancakes at once. They’re electric, so you’ll have stove space available to make other things that need to be cooked in a pan.
Other dishes like casseroles also allow you to prepare a lot of food in one pan. Check out these brunch recipes for your menu inspiration.
4. Scout Local Bakeries and Grocery Stores for More Choices
Brunch is all about relaxing, which is why you shouldn’t feel chained to your kitchen days in advance. Don’t be afraid to shop for muffins, bagels, donuts, cinnamon rolls, or any other kinds of pastries to bulk up your menu. This is a simple way to add more variety to your menu without spending a lot of money or time.
If you have a few friends who offer to help, then you can even assign this job to them. Make sure to tell them to arrive half an hour before the other guests so you have time to set the pastries out.
5. Avoid Cold Eggs and Soggy Waffles with These Genius Tricks
There’s nothing worse than filling your plate with a delicious feast only to bite into everything and realize it’s cold. You may think the only solution to this problem is to cook nonstop during the event to keep things fresh. Thankfully, there are other tips you can use so you can enjoy the party, too.
Metal is a great heat conductor, so serving all of your warm foods in a metal dish is the best way to preserve their heat. If you don’t have any lids, wrapping the dishes in aluminum foil will do the trick. You can remove the tinfoil right before your guests arrive so they can be surprised by all the food.
Hot plates are another way to keep the food at a constant temperature. However, if you don’t throw parties often, you may not want to waste storage space by buying some.
Did you know that you can keep a lot of food hot in the oven without drying them out? Pancakes, waffles, French toast, and more can be placed in a 200 degree oven for as long as half an hour to stay fresh.
6. Get Boozy with These Classic Brunch Cocktails
Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and sangrias are the perfect pairings for your brunch foods. Help your guests unwind by offering them a few alcoholic beverage options. These brunch cocktail recipes are a great place to start.
Some drinks like sangria taste better the longer they sit. This means you can prepare them a few days in advance instead of worrying about being a bartender.
If you’re preparing bubbly drinks like mimosas, you can still mix all of the non-alcoholic ingredients in advance. When your guests are about to arrive, all you need to do is pour the champagne and give the drink a good stir.
To keep things simple, you can prepare your cocktails in a pitcher for guests to serve themselves. Don’t forget to leave a spoon or another stirring device inside so the alcohol can stay evenly dispersed.
7. Remember to Include Other Popular Breakfast Beverages
Brunch is one of the only socially acceptable times for people to drink early in the day. However, some guests may want to avoid alcohol if they have other plans after.
You don’t have to go crazy with all different kinds of juices and teas. Having a pitcher of water and orange juice is good enough for cold options. Having a pot of one type of coffee and tea is plenty to satisfy anyone interested in a hot beverage.
8. Create a Relaxing Brunch Party Atmosphere
Brunches are peaceful and warm gatherings. Setting the right tone for your party is crucial when it comes to improving your guests’ moods.
Since the focus is on the food, you don’t have to worry about doing a ton of decorating. Paying attention to a few simple details will be enough to keep the atmosphere cheery.
If you’re outside, the sun will provide plenty of light. If you’re eating indoors, try to let as much sunshine in as possible.
Choosing earth tones or pastel colors for the tablecloths and dishware is another nice touch to help the room glow.
9. Don’t Forget to Play Soft Party Music
One of the most important aspects of atmosphere is sound. Playing music is a great way to prevent awkward silences when conversation lulls. Make sure the music is loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to overpower your guests’ voices.
Choosing the right playlist is also important for setting the mood. Most people enjoy gentle acoustics, instrumentals, and classic soft rock hits. Spotify or Pandora are great tools to use since they have tons of curated playlists perfect for happy gatherings.
10. Decorate Champagne Flutes as Party Favors
This step isn’t necessary to have a successful party, but it is a thoughtful gesture that makes your party more memorable.
Not only will these glasses liven up the table décor, but your guests will be wowed once they learn they can take them home. This article teaches you a
If you want to personalize each glass, you could paint names on them. This tactic is also a clever way to create a seating arrangement if you wish.
11. Meal Prep as Much as You Can the Night Before
The more you can get done before the day of your brunch party, the less stressed you’ll be when your guests arrive.
Meal prepping can involve many different things. You could prepare ready-to-pour batters, chop up fruits and vegetables, take out all of the cooking tools you’ll need, and more. What you can get done ahead of time depends largely on what’s included on your menu.
Some foods like bacon and eggs are best when they’re made the same day. Other things like pancakes, waffles, and quiches are fine reheated.
12. You Can Even Prep Weeks in Advance with These Easy Freezer Meals
If you want to make your party planning even easier, you can start cooking weeks in advance. If you have plenty of freezer space, you could have almost everything on your menu prepared ahead of the party.
Check out these dozens of big-batch breakfast recipes that taste incredible after they’ve been frozen.
As a rule of thumb, waffles, frittatas, muffins, and pancakes are all safe to store in the freezer no matter what recipe you use. To get the most bang for your buck, casseroles are always amazing freezer-friendly brunch dishes because they serve large crowds, they combine several common breakfast ingredients, and they’re easy to whip up.
13. Set the Table the Day Before
If you’re inviting several people to your brunch party, it’s also wise to arrange your tables the day before. You may not think that setting out dishes and decorations takes a lot of time, but when you’re worried about presentation, you could nitpick a lot.
Give yourself plenty of time to recreate the party layout you envision. If you’re not happy with your setup because you had to rush, you could dampen the mood.
14. How to Keep Bugs Away If Your Party Is Outdoors
An outdoor brunch party can be fabulous when the weather is perfect. However, outdoor parties require a little more planning to get them right.
If you live in a rural area with lots of bugs, you have to be careful not to let them taint your food. Lids are the safest way to keep your food intact, but they’re not as visually pleasing.
Not only are candles beautiful, but they can also keep your party space clear of bugs. Opt for citrus scents for the best effects.
If you need more reinforcements, these tips on how to keep your patio pest-free will ensure your guests aren’t bothered by unwelcome pests.
15. Choose Strategic Dishware If You’re Worried about Costs
Parties aren’t cheap! Although there are a lot of ways to work around a smaller budget, you can still end up spending hundreds of dollars. If you’re worried about running out of food, you can use some psychology to your advantage.
People tend to eat much less when they’re given smaller plates. The reasoning behind this phenomenon is that people may feel self-conscious about overeating or they don’t want to be bothered by getting up for multiple servings.
Money shouldn’t stop you from enjoying large gatherings with your loved ones, though. If you’re really concerned about having enough to eat, ask a few friends to bring a small amount of food.
A dozen bagels or donuts doesn’t cost much when that’s all you’re buying. However, if you’re responsible for the entire bill, these small items add up fast when you’re planning an extensive menu. Thanks to drive-thrus, your friends can pitch in easily on their ride over.
Ready to Design Free Invitations Online?
With these 15 expert tips, you’ll be sure to host the brunch party of the year. With a bit of planning, your party can be stress-free and affordable. The most important tip to remember is to relax and enjoy spending time with your loved ones.
If you’re excited about planning your party, why not start with the invitations? Greetings Island can help you get any party started with our free card templates. Check out our party invitations to find your perfect match. When you’re done customizing your invitation, you can print them at home or in a print shop, send them through email with RSVP services, or download them as a high-quality image to share online.
