I have always wanted to host a ladies brunch. Sometimes you just need an excuse to get together with your girlfriends and enjoy a few laughs and some good food. I enjoy having my friends over and making them feel spoiled. I partnered up with Emily McCarthy to go the extra mile and make it special. As my daughter would say, ” Mom, that is sooo extra!” Lol! In this case I will consider it a compliment. The following ideas can be used for a bridal shower or a birthday as well:
1.) Pick your theme or table setting. I picked “pretty in pink”! I felt like I needed a fresh jolt of femininity! For the table setting, I used these gold chargers (I’ve had for almost ten years)! I pulled out an older white table cloth, a necessity when doing any table setting especially if you want to be lighten up the scene. I used this lovely gold flatware, gold flatware is all the rage now and relatively inexpensive. Then I added some flowers for the table and a beautiful monogrammed napkin from Emily McCarthy. Last summer, I did a blog post about her store, they have great products and online help!
2.) You can’t host a brunch without mimosas so I decided to try my own mimosa bar. I recently became a member of Club Chandon Sparkling +Still Wine which gave me options to mix things up. There are so many fabulous ideas out there to try with sparkling wine. Later this week I will share how to make a mimosa bar. It is a ton of fun!
3.) Decide on your menu. I like to start with a salad, I made this easy salad out of spinach, cashews, goat cheese and strawberries with a strawberry dressing. Very easy and most women love this salad! The second course should be something savory. I absolutely love these frittata muffins. Each one can be made to ones taste buds. You can make vegetarian, dairy free or meat-lovers! They can be made up the night before and then just warm them up in a 150 degree oven. Lastly, the sweet course. My dear friend, Kim, volunteered to make a french toast casserole. It was over the top yummy! Other ideas for something sweet are homemade donut holes (super easy to make), a coffee cake or a buckle cake. There are so many options and your friends can pitch in and of course you have to share recipes!
4.) Provide a party favor for your guests. I chose the Louis Sherry chocolates I found on Emily McCarthy’s site. They come displayed in a beautiful keepsake tin. Very feminine and what woman doesn’t enjoy her chocolate? There are a variety of ideas out there. The Lavender Sugar Scrub that I posted recently is another way to bless your friends.
Keep in mind, hosting a ladies brunch is about having a good time with your closest friends and not to impress them but to bless them! It doesn’t have to be perfect and you can have a beautiful brunch without tons of expense!
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