Bagels & Bubbles: How to throw a carefree holiday brunch

Mainly due to the fact that I had so little time leading up to Christmas with all of us fighting one cold or flu after another, we did not get any Christmas cards done. Which is usually my jam; I love making Christmas cards. This year however, the thought made me feel immediately stressed – in a big way. In lieu of cards we decided to throw a very casual holiday open house with our dearest friends … in the morning. Most of our friends are either super busy with Christmas parties at night or have small children that go to bed early. So, a holiday brunch was just the ticket. I really liked the open house portion. We had waves of people come in and out, which ended up being a blessing as our place isn’t big at all.

Needless to say that this brunch was going to land on my plate of responsibilities. My idea for the Bagels & Bubbles came from pure selfishness: I wanted something as completely hands off as possible. My answer was to outsource by purchasing both the bagels and bubbles. The bubbles were primarily less expensive sparkling wine or Prosecco from our local liquor store. The bagels I purchased from Rosemary Rock Salt. Which I’m in love with, their rosemary rock salt bagel is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Thrown in some smoked salmon or lox, cream cheese, sliced red onion and some capers … and we had a completely carefree holiday brunch ready to go. I also added in my Winter Fruit Salad, which I’ll be posting tomorrow morning. I made the salad the day before so the morning of the brunch was really just laying everything out.

I had a bagel and a big coffee right before all the guests arrived. This allowed me to visit with everyone. I also am convinced that we’ll have more brunches like this in the future. Everyone can make their unique bagels, enjoy some bubbles, and visit in the true holiday fashion. My only regret is that we weren’t able to invite more people. Here’s to making this a new annual holiday event!

Tips for a carefree and hands off brunch:

• only make one dish (but make sure it’s a darn good one);
• outsource by either having a potluck or by buying the rest of the food;
• have coffee, tea, milk and sugar ready for guests;
• put out all the utensils, cups, mugs, plates, etc. to create the casual environment you’re looking for;
• I put out a few extra oranges and bananas for the littles kids who aren’t into grapefruits as well as paper cups for water;
• have nice juice to pair with the bubbles (I used mango and pomegranate/blueberry);
• remember the napkins! (I forgot these and had to run out after people arrived!!!);
• put out the bubbles in an ice bucket and keep a spare or two in the fridge (just use a really large bowl if you don’t have a larger ice bucket);
• eat before your guests arrive, this keeps you available the entire time;
• after the second wave of people I washed a large portion of our glasses to keep up with our guests;
• most importantly socialize and enjoy!