How to throw a champagne brunch

It’s time to celebrate! What better way than with a bubbly brunch?
You Will Need
* Champagne
* Orange juice
* Peach nectar
* Coffee
* Tea
* Food
* Tables
* Champagne flutes and juice glasses
* Plates
* Flatware
* A coffee pot
* A teapot
* Coffee and tea cups
* Chairs
* Invitations
* Flowers

Step 1
Invite your guests a month in advance. Spare yourself from being inundated with calls by marking the invitation “Regrets Only.”

Step 2
Plan your menu. Because brunch is a meal that serves as both breakfast and lunch, it can be anything from a simple selection of breads and pastries to steak and eggs.

Step 3
Pick wines that go with your menu. As long as you have enough champagne for a toast, you needn’t be a slave to champagne if other kinds of wine would better complement your meal. Your local wine merchant can advise you.

Plan on one bottle of wine or champagne for every two or three people.

Step 4
Have orange juice on hand for Mimosas; peach nectar to make Bellinis; and tomato juice and vodka for guests who might like Bloody Marys or Virgin Marys.

Sparkling wine, which is less expensive than the wine that gets its name from the Champagne region of France, works fine.

Step 5
Keep dessert light, especially if your brunch includes lots of breads and pastries. Consider putting out bowls of berries and arranging fine chocolates on a tiered platter.

Step 6
Whip some fresh cream to serve with coffee. Offer rock candy stirrers and chocolate spoons. Have a variety of teas on hand. Decorate plates with edible flowers and vegetable garnishes, like radish roses.

Step 7
Do as much food preparation as you can ahead of time. Don’t forget to chill the champagne!

Step 8
Give yourself plenty of time to get ready before your guests arrive. Careful planning will let you relax when your guests arrive. Cheers!

Fact: Brunches first started in Britain around the 1890s but didn’t catch on in the U.S. until the 1930s.