Create beautiful memories around a festive Christmas brunch table. Here are a few ideas to help you quickly and easily plan for a special morning gathering.

 

How to Simply Set a Table for a Festive Christmas Brunch

This post contains affiliate links.

 

Christmas can be a challenge on so many levels, but I hope you have moments of peace and joy amidst the celebration and quiet.

My happiest Christmas memories as a child are those that were made around the table and sharing it with friends and family.

Whether you have the whole family over on Christmas morning for breakfast or brunch, or it’s just a few around the table, these ideas will help you make your table truly festive.

 

Help your guests feel special - Tips for a Simple, Easy, and Festive Christmas Brunch

 

Make Your People Feel Special. 

This year there were only three of us around the table for Christmas brunch.  One of my best friends was going to be alone, so I invited her to join us for the morning.  We had such a good time together.  Our meal was simple and delicious and our table was colorful. It really doesn’t take any time at all to set a pretty table.  When you plan to make your table special, your family and guests will feel special.  It’s totally worth the little bit of effort.

 

Put together a colorful tablesetting ahead of time. Planning ahead makes set up so EASY

 

Plan Ahead

Usually a few days ahead, I plan out my table setting and centerpiece and set one place setting aside so that when the big day arrives, I’ll know exactly what I’m doing. After coming home at midnight from the Christmas Eve service, I quickly set the table for the next morning in less than ten minutes.  Setting more places won’t take much longer.  I love getting up in the morning with a pretty table all set.

 

Every festive Christmas brunch deserves a simple floral centerpiece like this one made of white tulips and white pine

 

Create a Simple Centerpiece

There isn’t anything I like better than a quick and easy centerpiece for my table. I don’t get elaborate because there will be food on the table and space can be a premium.  Fresh flowers and greens or an evergreen centerpiece are my favorites at Christmas. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I picked up a large bunch of white tulips.  This was the first time I’ve had tulips at Christmas.  They might become a tradition.

 

Set a festive Christmas brunch table and make your people feel loved and special

 

After selecting a wider low vase, I cut the tulips down (the vase is 1/3 to 1/2 of the total height as a standard rule) and rubber banded them about two inches from the cut end of the stem and placed them in water.  I then added some fresh white pine which is abundant in my area to serve as a festive collar around the top of the vase.  You can use any evergreen from your garden. The tulips are heavy drinkers, so be sure to top off the vase every day.  Of course, you can use any flowers you like. For the record… my tulips looked perfect for a whole week before they started to fad.  A detailed tutorial for creating an evergreen centerpiece for Christmas or winter can be found here.

 

Add a festive feel to the table with inexpensive whimsical holiday dessert or salad plates

 

Give Your Table a Festive Feel.

Beginning in late fall, I keep my eyes open for Christmas table decor.  This year I was able to find some whimsical salad plates at Walmart for about $2 apiece.  That is so affordable and they were a great way to add a festive feel to the table with their graphic phrases, “Merry and Bright” and “Comfort and Joy.”

 

Whimsical salad plates give a festive flair to Christmas Brunch

 

On a trip to Home Goods, I found the striped napkins.  They have the best prices.  I love the whimsical candy cane look they give to the place settings.  Do you struggle with how to fold a napkin or find yourself searching for your napkin rings? A super easy way to give a casual feel to the table setting is to fold your napkin lengthwise in quarters and then wrap the top of the napkin over the end of the dinner plate with the napkin on top of the plate and extending like a skirt over the front edge of the plate. You could leave it like this or set a sprig of evergreens or a candy cane on the napkin.  Or, if you have cute salad plates like mine, place them on top of the napkin.

Red plates are a must if you enjoy entertaining and setting a festive table.  Mine are Pioneer Woman plates that were on clearance last year at Walmart.  You can’t beat red plates for Christmas, and Valentine’s Day and Fourth of July tables are pretty fabulous with them too.

No one NEEDS chargers, but I love how they take a simple table setting and turn it into a WOW! You’ll remember seeing these on my Easter table.

 

There's nothing like red dinner plates to make the table festive for Christmas brunch

 

I had fun decorating with black and white buffalo checks in my bedroom and loved it so much I carried that theme to my kitchen for Christmas with all the leftover ribbons used on my Christmas tree. That inspired me to make a quick stop at the fabric store one night where I scored this check tablecloth.   It’s not your usual tablecloth fabric as this is flannel shirt fabric, but it was wide enough to make a tablecloth and it was on SALE!  My new buffalo check tablecloth adds to the festivity giving a whimsical feel to the table, and with the black lettering on the plates and white tulips completes the look perfectly.

 

Black and white buffalo check tablecloth creates a festive background for Christmas red and evergreens for holiday brunch

 

Don’t Spend All Your Time in the Kitchen

Plan a simple menu.  My Christmas brunch was so easy and most was made ahead of time.

I served vintage style ice cream dishes of fresh fruit… blueberries and raspberries and oranges.  You can make fast work of trimming the peel off the orange with a knife and then thinly slicing it and cutting the slices in half and then arranging in the dishes with the berries.  Quick and colorful is a win and it looks so festive, too.

 

Berries and orange slices make the most amazing and EASY fruit dish and it's colorful and festive, too

 

The night before I made a pan of Cinnamon Raisin Baked French Toast and I pulled it out of the fridge about an hour before it was due to go in the oven.  It took about 45 minutes to bake.  In the meantime, I warmed a bottle of maple syrup in a pan of water on the stove and poured the warmed syrup into a cream pitcher and placed it on the table.

The last 10 minutes that the French toast was baking I slipped a pan of thinly sliced smoked ham in the oven to warm.

And to add more festivity to the table, I served sparkling cranberry juice.

This is such a super easy menu and absolutely deeelicious!

 

Rustic natural dining space sets the stage for a creative fun and festive Christmas brunch

 

These ideas for making a festive Christmas brunch could transfer to any holiday or anytime you have overnight guests or just want to host a gathering of friends.  I’ve discovered that brunch works well for busy people, so if you’ve never hosted friends for brunch, plan a date and “send” your invites.

 

Mother Nature's whimsical touches at a cheerfulness to this festive Christmas brunch

 

I’d love to hear your Christmas morning breakfast or brunch tradition.  What’s your favorite food or menu?

Thanks so much for popping by today!

If you enjoyed this post, please use the sharing buttons
to 
let your friends know and “pin it,” too.

Wishing you... An Extraordinary Day!

Receive FREE inspiration like this in your inbox!
Sign up Now.

Click on the image to SHOP THE LOOK


For more inspiration, see my favorite Christmas/Winter tablescape here.

Comments

  1. Minnie McCoy says

    Oh how lovely!
    The table cloth, dishes, the background wreath, just everything.
    A delight for all the senses!
    You are very good at showing your peeps how special they are to you by the way you lay the table for them. Lucky duckies.☺
    Thank you for sharing and making us feel special too.
    Blessings to you!
    Minnie
    P.S.
    I’m wishing you and all you love a BLESSED New Year. Full of Peace and Beauty!

    • Awww… thanks so much Minnie! it’s my favorite way to love on those I care about. It makes my day to know that it makes you feel special too! Because you are!! {{hugs}}

  2. Bobbi Duncan says

    I love these festive colors, Diane, and , although more simple to put together, everything looks lovely. Know your guest felt very appreciated indeed. Now that I’m 67, I’m finding I’m much more prone to get tasks accomplished if they’re not too time consuming, whereby wearing me out and not up to enjoying what should be fun times with family and friends. I used to decorate so elaborately–almost every room–and prepare time consuming gourmet meals but it all became too much to do for every company-is-coming-over meal. Now, I reserve that for very special occasions only. My hubby almost fell over in disbelief when I set a July 4th. outdoor table with plastic plates because I had always used china , even for picnics in the countryside lol! From the many blogs I’ve read this year, seems quite a few women are following suit, wishing to return to a more simple Christmas, like the ones when they were young. I was looking at some of your blogs from years ago and learned that you live in Legonier, PA. We, too, live in PA–across from Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. If you ever get over our way–lots to do here–we’ll have to get together.

    • Thank you, Bobbi!
      I have never used a tablecloth like this for a special occasion and I’m totally in awe of what a wonderful “punch” it gave the table. If I had used my pretty cream and white cloth it would have been nice… but this combo surprised me. It felt so happy and more colorful and even today I have that cloth on the table and with the tulips (though almost faded) in the center and the snow outside and the greens and ribbons hanging on the posts on my deck it just made me smile. I’m right with you on the real plates for a picnic. I still might do that because I hate how paper plates and napkins blow around so easily. The dishwasher is my best friend. 😉 But… I totally am on your page for going simple with disposable. We can be “fancy” and still keep things easy and simple. I love how you enjoy decorating and entertaining and are finding what is best for YOU right now. I think that when we do what’s best for us we can then give our guests the best of us. 🙂
      I need to update my about page. Good grief… we are living in Michigan now. You live across from Longwood Gardens… oh my!!! That’s on my list and I have never been there. You are one blessed gal!!
      Thanks for the lovely chat, my friend!
      Wishing you a new year that filled with joy and peace!
      xo

  3. Gwen says

    This turned out so festive!!! I’m so glad you had company over to enjoy brunch and your beautiful tree and festive table. I think these plates are fun and cheerful. You chose such great food that sounded yummy. I’m glad you went out of the predicted practical to the wild and unpredictable buffalo check.! What a sense of pow.
    Thank you for tips on napkins and where to look for items too.

    • Thank you, Gwen! This was such a good Christmas after the past several years so badly needed. We felt “normal” again. I know you understand.
      Glad you loved my table… it was so very fun to put together and I think is the physical evidence of my spirit. 😉
      Big hugs!!

  4. Ivory says

    Gorgeous, I love it all. The entire tablescape I with those lovely Christmas find from Walmart. I hope to find some tomorrow when I visit. Have a Happy New Year

    • Thank you so much for your warm thoughts, Ivory!! I was just at Walmart today and they had hardly any holiday anything left. BUT we have a tiny store, so I’ll cross my fingers that you’ll be successful.
      Wishing you a New Year filled with JOY and hope! xo

Please Share Your Extraordinary Thoughts!

*

AMAZON ASSOCIATES DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.