Planning Brunch - From Blacktop to Dirt Road

This morning, I had the pleasure of hosting a day after Christmas brunch at our home with my husband’s family. It gave my mother-in-law a chance to just sit back and enjoy a meal and offered me the opportunity to entertain in our home during the holidays. Everybody won 🙂

As a newlywed, I always wanted to have friends and family over in our home, but wasn’t quite sure where to start, and honestly it made me really nervous. How many people can I cook for? How do I set the table? What recipes should I use? Will I be overwhelmed? What if something goes wrong? How can I get it all done and not look like a chicken with my head cut off?

The struggle was real, girl friend.

And when there is a struggle like this, one turns to their momma.

My mom entertained large groups in our home all the time when I was growing up, but I never really knew how she did it. Our home was always inviting; my mom used her fine china for guests, the house was beautifully decorated and super clean. My mom was known for her h’orderves, cheese dips and gorgeous table settings. When I met my mother-in-law, I found her style of entertaining was a little bit different, but equally inviting. She is also hosts large groups, but is known more for her meat and potatoes kind of cooking and her get togethers have a much more relaxed, everyday feel. Her meals are usually a few courses long, complete with dessert and she feeds anyone who walks through the door because she always has something on hand. But the one thing that I have learned from both of them is that they were ALWAYS gracious hosts. And that’s what I wanted to find out – how to host with grace. By asking questions, scribbling down recipes and making new routines of my own, I have been able to discover and enjoy my own entertaining style and have found hosting to be my very favorite thing to do.

So today I thought I would share my how-to’s of hosting a brunch and hopefully this will give you the confidence to boost your own entertaining style and host a brunch of your own 🙂

The first thing to think of when hosting any meal in your home is your guests. How many people are coming, number of adults and kids and asking about any food allergies or preferences (my sister-in-law is breastfeeding, so I made sure we had decaf for the Keurig!), then you can start putting together your menu.

The thing that I love the most about brunch is that so much of it can be done the night before so that prep the morning of is a breeze. After putting together my menu, I realized I could make most of the items the night before, so I had little to do the morning of and could really enjoy getting ready for my family to come over and not have to worry about cleaning dishes and scrubbing pans in a rush.

Here was the menu I prepared for this morning (feeding 9 adults, 3 kids):

peach French toast casserole (9×13)

sausage breakfast casserole (9×13)

large bowl of mixed fruit

grapefruit halves

bacon

hot apple cider

coffees and creamers

assorted juices and milk

Both of my casseroles (8-10 servings in each dish) I was able to make and place in the fridge to settle the night before, as well as cutting up the bowl of mixed fruit. For this morning, I chose strawberries and big, beautiful blackberries (and of course I sprinkled a little bit of sugar on top to help even out the tartness of the berries).

That only left me with a few things to do this morning, preparing the beverages, cooking the meat and setting the tables. When trying to figure out the amount of meat to make, I always prepare two pieces of meat per guest, whether it be bacon, sausage or ham. So this morning I made 24 slices of bacon in the oven (oven at 400, line bacon on parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes). Drinks, especially for brunches, are so important! For me, having an assortment of juices and hot drinks is something that I love to have on hand to give my guests options. This can include different coffees and creamers if you would like 🙂

And for my most favorite part, the table setting. For this brunch, I used my cream lace tablecloth and accented with bright red cranberries floating in assorted glass vases with tea lights. It was simple and clean, yet popped with vintage holiday cheer. I also had the kids table ready to go with my girl’s favorite plastic kiddie dishes and cups. That way their eating area could be as messy as they wanted it to be and the adults wouldn’t have worry about it 🙂

I decided to use my everyday china and tea set for this brunch. Normally I like to use one of my two fine china sets, but the color of my plates went along perfectly with the lace and red berries. I also used my favorite vintage juice cups and glass fruit bowls.

For some, having a beautifully set table isn’t a huge priority when entertaining. But for me, it’s the extra effort that goes into making my guests feel welcome, knowing that I put in the time to make their visit special and intentionally lovely.

With 15 minutes before my guests arrived, I turned on my favorite Christmas Pandora station, lit my all time favorite winter candle (Frasier Fir by Pickwick), gave my countertops one last wipe down and sat back to enjoy looking at my twinkly Christmas lights while sipping on a cup of coffee. Because my morning was not rushed, I was able to really enjoy getting ready to invite my family into our home. I wasn’t stressed or pressed for time, and even had a few moments to say a quick prayer that our home would be a blessing that morning to those I love.

And the best part?

Everyone had fun.
None of the food was burned.
My family left with full tummies.
There was laughter around the table.
All of the kids spilled on the floor and ran around with sticky hands.
Everyone left full of love and grace.

And that’s the best kind of company to have 🙂

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