When you, your family and friends have consistently overbooked schedules, it may be difficult to find the time to meet for dinner. Hosting a weekend brunch can be an easy way to invite families over – they can arrive at whatever time is convenient from morning until afternoon. Consider a few tips to ensure the event is easy for you to pull off, enabling you to enjoy some good food and even better conversation as different guests visit.

Plan Ahead

Instead of rushing to prepare all of the food in the morning, prep as much as you can the night before. Assemble breakfast casseroles that you bake the next day. Slice sandwich meats, roll savory wraps and mix the batter for waffles and store everything in the refrigerator. Gather the ingredients for brunch beverages at a make-it-yourself bar where the guests can create a cocktail or mocktail of their choice.

Enlist Help

When you’d like to offer an assortment of pastries but don’t have the time to bake, opt for a selection of delicious store-bought items. Head to your favorite bakery Schaumburg at least a week in advance and order scones, muffins, bagels and cookies, for instance, which will be ready to pick up a day in advance. Keep the items in sealed bags or containers so they’ll stay fresh overnight.

Consider the Kids

If several children will be in attendance, have some basic breakfast foods on hand to satisfy any picky eaters. Offer an assortment of cold cereals and milk, plain scrambled eggs or silver dollar pancakes and syrup, for instance.

Throwing a brunch doesn’t have to be a complicated process. The meal is flexible enough for you to offer a wide variety of sweet or savory dishes and finger foods, which means less stress for you and enough choices for your guests to find something that they love to eat.