How to Host Sunday Brunch at Home | MBellished Life

An easy menu, a beautiful table and nowhere else to be.

There is something wonderfully relaxed about inviting people over for Sunday brunch.

Dinner can feel like an occasion. Brunch feels easier. People arrive in daylight, the flowers can be simple, the food doesn't need to be complicated—and somehow everyone seems happy to linger just a little longer.

For me, the best brunches are the ones where the table looks beautiful, most of the food is ready before anyone arrives, and I can actually sit down and enjoy it.

Set a Relaxed Table

Brunch doesn't need the formality of a dinner table.

I like pretty linens, fresh flowers, beautiful glasses and perhaps a little color—but nothing too precious. A low arrangement down the center keeps things casual and lets everyone talk across the table.

And brunch is the perfect time to mix things you already own rather than setting a perfectly matched table.

Keep the Menu Simple

The biggest mistake is trying to make six things that all need to come out of the oven at exactly the same time.

I prefer one main dish, something fresh, good bread or pastries, and perhaps one indulgent extra.

A Sunday Brunch Menu

To Start
Fresh fruit with berries
Bagels and pastries
Good butter and preserves

For the Table
A vegetable and goat cheese frittata
Smoked salmon with capers, red onion and crème fraîche
A simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette
Crispy breakfast potatoes

Something Sweet
Lemon loaf or an Apple Tart

Pour Something Festive

Coffee and tea are essential, of course, but I also like having something celebratory waiting.

A spicy Bloody Mary or French 75 immediately makes Sunday brunch feel like an occasion. Set out the ingredients and let guests help themselves rather than playing bartender all morning.

For a non-alcoholic option, sparkling water with citrus and mint looks just as pretty on the table.

Do as Much as Possible the Night Before

This is probably my most important brunch rule.

Set the table. Arrange the flowers. Put out the serving pieces. Make the cake. Prep anything that can be prepped.

Sunday morning should be about putting the finishing touches on things—not discovering that you still need to iron twelve napkins.

MBellished Entertaining Notes

Make one thing the star. Everything else can be easy.

Serve family-style. It immediately makes brunch feel more relaxed.

Keep flowers low and loose. Brunch calls for something less formal.

Use beautiful pitchers and carafes. Even orange juice looks better decanted.

Prepare ahead. The host should be sitting at the table too.

Let people linger. That's really the point of Sunday brunch.

A Perfect Sunday Brunch.