How to Host a Champagne Potluck Brunch

Brunch is a wonderful combination of breakfast and lunch foods. It offers a wide variety of cuisine and provides guests with a casual atmosphere to enjoy good food and conversation. Adding champagne enhances the taste of the food while giving your event a more upscale feel.

When hosting a brunch, paying for all of the food yourself can become quite expensive. Unfortunately, some people just can't afford it. Thankfully, there's a solution.

Host a brunch potluck instead! This makes it affordable for the host and opens the door for some interesting dishes to be shared by all of the guests. Let's take a look at what you need.

Hosting a Champagne Brunch

Before you start planning your brunch, it's important to pick a date and time for the event. After making your selection, you'll need to prepare the invites. It's best to send these out two weeks in advance so guests can mark their calendars.

Be sure to indicate that it's a potluck and include what you'll be providing as the host. Also, ask guests to RSVP so you can have some kind of a headcount for drinks and food.

When it comes to decorations, there's no need to go too fancy, as it is a potluck. I suggest setting the food up buffet style with tableware at the beginning of the buffet. Some pretty tablecloths would be nice for your tables along with some fresh flowers. Be sure to have glasses for your drinks, including champagne and water glasses. You might also add some candles for ambiance. 

Potluck Buffet Food

As the host, I suggest that you be prepared to supply most of the champagne, although you can ask guests to bring a bottle of their favorite bubbly with them. You should also supply any condiments needed, such as butter, syrup, catsup, mayonnaise, mustard, and of course, salt and pepper.

For food, I suggest being in charge of making scrambled eggs. Eggs are inexpensive and scrambling them is easy. Once cooked, you can put them in a crockpot to keep them warm. As for recommended dishes for your guests to bring, some suggestions include:

• Biscuits and gravy

• Sausage

• Bacon

• Pastries

• Rolls

• Cold cuts

• Salads

• Veggie platter

• Cheese tray

• Smoked salmon

• Fresh fruits

• Seasoned potatoes

• Mini pancakes

• Mini quiches

• Sliced ham

Of course, you'll also want some desserts, but be careful that not too many people bring them, as you want substantial food as well.

Champagne Drinks

Now for the fun part, the champagne! You can serve champagne straight up in glasses, but it would also be nice to have a variety of champagne cocktails available. Don't worry. They are very easy to make. Check these out:

Mimosa

1/2 glass orange juice and 1/2 glass champagne

Apple Cider Mimosa

1/2 glass apple cider and 1/2 glass champagne

Strawberry Mimosa

1/2 glass strawberry juice and 1/2 glass champagne

Death in the Afternoon

1.5 oz of absinthe

4.5 oz of champagne

Sorbet Float

1 scoop of sorbet, then fill the rest of the glass with champagne

Black Velvet

1/2 glass champagne and 1/2 glass of stout.

You can also experiment and come up with your own cocktails. I would also suggest having some non-alcoholic drinks on hand, like juices, sodas, and water. You might also want to have some coffee ready.

Brunch Activities

Of course, you'll want some games and activities to keep your guests entertained. If you're hosting the brunch outside, try setting up horseshoes and a bean bag toss. I also suggest having a couple of frisbees to toss around.

If younger kids are in attendance, games like "red light, green light" and hide-and-seek will keep them happy and entertained.

If the brunch is indoors, you'll want to include some "less active" activities. I recommend games like Charades and trivia. 

You can also play a question-and-answer game. This is a good icebreaker to help your guests get to know each other better.

 Here's how it works. First, write down some questions so there is enough for each guest to answer one. Make sure they are written on separate pieces of paper before placing them in a large bowl. One by one, have each guest pull a question, read it out loud, and answer it. Here is a list of ideas to get you started:

• What is at the top of your bucket list?

• What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done while drinking?

• If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

• If you could time travel, where and when would you go?

• What's the strangest food you've ever tried?

• If you could be President for a day, what law would you put into effect?

• If you could meet your favorite cartoon character, who would it be?

• Have you ever met a celebrity, and if so, who?

• Where in the world would you most like to visit?

• What's a dish you would love to cook, but don't know how to?

You now have some basics to help throw a fun, champagne potluck brunch. Don't forget to take lots of pictures, and if you have any additional suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments below.