How To Host The Perfect Holiday Brunch

Along with the stress of holiday shopping comes the fun of friends and family. Especially when food is involved. Brunch is the ideal holiday meal –– perfect for a late morning get together with friends and fun for families with kids running around.

Starting the day off with a festive brunch can really set the mood for the holiday season. A fun table-scape and themed centerpieces are great at setting the mood. Fill mason jars with whole cranberries and sprigs of holly or hollow out mini pumpkins or seasonal gourds and insert LED votive lights. Have your playlist arranged and streaming before your guests arrive so the ambience is set immediately.

Go all out and prepare a traditional meal (pancakes, eggs, sauces, and more) or opt for a more casual event where guests stack their own plates with finger foods like muffin-sized frittata cups and ham and egg sliders. Whatever your menu choice, a few items are a must have at every holiday brunch gathering. Cocktails are always a nice touch, too. A bellini bar is easily created by displaying a few different styles of sparkling wine and ripe peach purée and alongside a variety of fresh juices. More important than the buzz, though, is the burr. As in the burr of a coffee grinder prepping beans for that first cup.

There is nothing like the aroma of freshly ground beans when you walk into a café. Replicate the moment by filling a grinder like KitchenAid's Burr Grinder, with top quality coffee beans. Want something bold and dark? Try a dark roast single origin from Costa Rica. Prefer to go easy and light? Try a light roast blend from Columbia and Brazil. Whatever your preference, the Burr Grinder uses stainless steel burrs to grind coffee consistently at any of the 15 available grind levels. The glass bean hopper holds up to seven ounces of whole beans that you can quickly grind for automatic drip, espresso or, the ideal brunch coffee: the French press.

KitchenAid's Precision Press is ideal for group gatherings. The brewer enhances the simplicity of the French press brew process. An integrated timer and scale makes it easy to measure the coffee to water ratio to achieve a full flavor and bodied brew. Also, the dual wall stainless construction keeps coffee at the right temperature, so no matter how long Uncle Gary's story about getting lost in the corn maze is, your coffee will never get cold.  If you want to really impress your family and friends, make the press your gift to them. Place a KitchenAid Precision Press at each table setting, filled with their favorite coffee ready to drink and decorated with a nametag and little note saying something like "home-ground and homemade from me for you" letting them know that it's their coffee and gift in one.

Who knew being a hostess with the mostess was this simple?