Hosting a Graduation Brunch

We have just survived a tsunami of graduations! The most wonderful aspect of graduation is the fact that one has reached a huge milestone. A milestone that took years of hard work to achieve. So of course you need to celebrate! With six kids in our family we have hit multiple milestones this year. One child was promoted from middle school to high school, one graduated high school, and one graduated college.

With our college graduate we traveled out of state for graduation. We were so fortunate to be able to have many family members able to attend. This was a weekend of family and fun! Nothing beats that!

I found a beautiful home on AirBnB that housed my entire side of the family. This was my husband and kids, my parents, my brother and his family – and of course me. In total there was 10 to 12 of us! The range was depending on the night. With this many people traveling – family members came and went. Plus some nights a couple of the kids chose to stay at my daughter’s apartment.

When we first booked this home – many months ago! (Everything books up fast in Boulder, CO.) I spoke to the home owner about possibly hosting a graduation brunch with two of my daughter’s friends and their families. The home had a beautiful backyard with a large deck. The school graduation was to take place at 8:30 in the morning and be down roughly around 10 am. My daughter and I thought that a simple brunch would be a wonderful way for these three friends to spend their last day of college together.

The home owners were very gracious and said, yes. Yea!

My daughter and I talked about a number of brunch menu ideas and finally settled on this simple menu:

Hosting a Graduation Brunch Menu

• Spiral Cut Ham
• Fruit salad
• Assorted Overnight Egg Stratas
• Coffee Cake
• Pastries
• Coffee
• Mimosa Bar

This was a menu that everything could be prepped ahead of time. I prepped the ham, made three egg stratas, fruit salad, and set up the mimosa bar. Her dad picked up the coffee cake and pastries from a local bakery.

I love overnight egg stratas and have been making them for years. I no longer use a recipe and make them according to what sounds good a the time. hmmm….. My favorite was the asparagus and gouda version. Delicious! I need to remake this so that I can take photos and post the recipe. I made three stratas and all three were gobbled up. In fact – people were digging in before I had time to snap a few photos 🙂

The mimosa bar was super easy to set up and added to the celebratory feeling of the brunch. A simple touch that was enjoyed by many of the adult guests. I found the chalkboard and carafes at Target. Remember, we were traveling so super simple is the way to go. A few juice options as well as assorted berries is all that is needed to elevate champagne to an even higher party status!

This simple brunch ended up being one of the highlights of the weekend. Having the time and space to relax and be together with family and friends is simple the best! I loved watching the grandmothers of the girls meet and throughly enjoy each other’s company. 

The party was planned to be enjoyed outside in the beautiful yard, but being Boulder, CO – the skies decided to open up and pour rain! Luckily, there was room inside for everyone! And luckily the rain did not start until all of the graduates and there families were streaming out of the stadium and leaving campus.

The day was perfect!

And it all started with an Evite! Yes, you know I am one of Evite’s biggest fans! I have really been using them a lot these past few weeks with so many parties on my calendar. I love how Evite helps me keep organized and my guests informed. And likewise – I love it when my friends use Evite and my invitations are all in one place! It really makes my life easier!!!

This simple celebratory brunch was enjoyed by family and friends. Thank you to the homeowners that allowed us to host this gathering in their beautiful hame and thank you to Evite for their awesome and super easy invitations!

This post is in collaboration with Evite.com and their Evite Influencer Program. #BeThere #Evite