This year we decided to try something new and changed the traditional time of our family gathering. Instead of a late afternoon Christmas dinner we hosted a mid morning Christmas Brunch for the extended family since that worked out the best for everyone. Then, after that, our kids would stay to open gifts and we would have our Traditional Christmas Dinner. To manage the two meals I knew I would need to be organized and have as many things made ahead as possible.
For Brunch I made an easy overnight Croissant Egg Casserole and overnight Caramel rolls. I also set up the bagel bar and prepped the fruit salad and yogurt parfaits ahead. We put the ham in the oven early in the morning after the rolls and casserole were finished and the hubs prepared the scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage while the ham was cooking.
Remember these Santa Napkins? I made them for our brunch and we used matching red plastic plates as well. Since we were not having a sit down brunch I decided to go with disposable items because I was setting a formal table for dinner and did not want to take time to wash so many dishes. It was festive and worked out great.
We set up three buffet style stations and used our chafing dishes to keep things warm since everyone was arriving at different times.
For the bagel bar we set up the toaster and for toppings we put out cream cheese, butter and homemade raspberry jam.
Everything went smoothly and we had all the food ready to go on time however I must have gotten sidetracked once everyone arrived because the next day I discovered I did not get photos of the Beverage Station, the Warm Food station, dinner or anything else for that matter. { Ugh...maybe next year?! }
Our transition from brunch to dinner went smoothly as well since I had made the potatoes, braided cardamom bread, salads and desserts ahead. The planning and make ahead items paid off and we had a fun and relaxing day with our loved ones!
Happy Friday!
