Yes, the Easter of 2008 marked an important milestone: We hosted a holiday at our place for the first time.
For 24 years now I've tagged along to family gatherings to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. And when I got married I felt it important to contribute to the event, so I started to ask, "What can I bring?"
The answer every single time? "Rolls." (And they're talking "store-bought" here)
Now really, I've long been capable of bringing more than rolls from Meijer. I think I almost had to beg to bring a casserole to something last year. I think there is that "oh she is still a kid" mentality lingering out there. In any case, I've clearly had almost zero responsibility when it comes to entertaining on holidays.
Until this year.
We decided not to travel (as we've done that a lot lately) and invite some friends over to celebrate with us. We ended up with a group of 7 adults (including us) and 2 kids, which perfectly fit around our new table.
Observations:
1. Breakfast casseroles = ability to chat with guests pre-lunch. Planning a menu that can be 85% made up and done the night before is key. I made cheesy potatoes, an appley pancakey casserole, and an egg/sausage/cheese casserole. And some fruit. Nothing too fancy, which was just my style for my first try. I didn't try to go quite as far as this, thankfully. But even my relatively simple menu took me quite a while to plan out and prepare.
2. My mom is a gem. She got many calls from me (and vice-versa) about what I should have for pre-lunch coffee/snack time, if I could bake things the night before, etc.
3. I am not as good at this as my mom. I feel like it takes her no-time-flat to shop, prepare, clean, etc. Then she is calm, collect, and organized when it comes to having people over. And her meals are usually more complex than brunch. But then again, she has 24 years on me.
4. Easter brunch was a lot of fun. I really loved sharing the holiday with friends - some who we knew well, some we're still getting to know. Everyone was gracious and I think they had a good time. And having kids around (2 years and 3 months) is always exciting.
5. I want to try it again! I can definitely see room for improvement (the food wasn't particularly bad, but I think I could have done better) and I have fun ideas I'd like to try (handmade placecards, anyone? Something more creative than cupcakes for coffee/dessert time?). 
And what is Easter food without Cadbury Mini Eggs? My favorite.
On an unrelated note, YAY for pictures of the darling Michael Henry James!
6 comments:
I've been READING your blog, just boycotting posting since you changed the name from "beers and brats to infinity and beyond!" That's what it was, right? :)
Good morning, just wanted to say hi and that your cupcakes look fabulous.
Wow, Jess, I'm impressed! I always get the 'rolls' comment too, but I'm not the homemaker you are my friend! Good job, the pics look delicious!
Good job, Jessica. It sounds like you had a nice day. I remember the first time I hosted a party. I think Tom was more nervous than I. I can't remember what I served, but I'm sure it was a typical Witte Family thing minus the actual Witte family.
What up homey!? Congrats on your first grown up holiday where you got to cook! You might have to start posting some recipes!
Congrats on the successful brunch! I totally know what you mean about the calls home to "Mom." Since I started doing Thanksgiving at home, my poor mother gets a phone call about every half hour while she's trying to prepare her own turkey meal. Secretly I think she loves it though, since it makes her feel like she's still involved even if she's not here with us!
Unrelated, HAD A BLAST on Saturday! Be on the lookout for a post later this week (totally should have brought my camera with me to document it). Looking forward to knowing you more, especially if you all are in MI for the summer. :)
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