One thing you should know about me, is I love a good mimosa, or really any mimosa for that matter. I love the sweet taste and hint of effervescence from the sparkling wine. I also love sipping them from champagne flutes, cause what’s more fun than that! I’ll make any occasion, into a reason to have mimosas and my kids heading back to school seems like the best reason I can think of right now. Serving mimosas already elevates your get together from a coffee sipping playdate to an event and I’m here for that! I’ll show you how to throw an easy, causal, stress free “mom-osa” gathering!
Where to Start
- First things first, you need to gather your guest list and send out invites. For my party, I found our class list and emailed the moms in the class. No offense dads, but this party was just for moms and I stated that in my email. Since this was a casual “pop in” event, I made sure to make that clear in my email. If you are hosting a more formal event, you may consider using electronic evites (I personally like Evites.com) or create your own paper invite to send in the mail. Do be sure to add a phone number and email for easy RSVP. The easier you make RSVPing, the more likely your guests will remember to do it.
Plan Decor
- My gathering was small and completely outdoors and I knew I wanted a simple tablescape that was easy to clean up. I found this darling white scalloped tablecloth at Target that I knew would be perfect (linked below). I followed that up with a black and white gingham table runner that I had originally purchased from Goodwill. Goodwill is my best tip for grabbing party decor on a budget. When I saw this runner, I did not know what I’d use it for but I knew it had to go home with me. Similar one linked below. Once I had a tablecloth and runner, I just needed some floral/greenery elements and some trays for serving.
- Serving Trays. I decided to use a mix of white serving trays including a white wood tray, a scalloped cake stand and a rectangle serving platter from my collection. My favorite platter is this one that I’ve had for years from Crate & Barrel (linked below)
- Add greenery and some floral elements. I’m pretty boring when it comes to floral arrangements and greenery. I have some hydrangea stems that I keep on hand for events. Fresh flowers are obviously a better choice but I bought these years ago for 80% at Micheal’s and they’ve been used over and over again (budget tip!). I throw them in simple jars (linked below) for a casual, farmhouse look. My greenery was borrowed from my entry way shelf, no need to buy anything new for this gathering.
Plan Food/Drink
- I usually keep food and drinks pretty simple at all my parties. For this, I had bagels with cream cheese and cookies. My girlfriends chipped in and offered to bring these items so it made it even easier. I had crystal cut plastic plates and simple napkins available.
- Drinks are also simple, water, coffee and mimosas. Because I was hosting a mommy group, I wanted to have sparkling water available in addition to tap water in case a mom chooses to have a non-alcoholic mimosa. My advice on coffee is to grab a coffee tote from Panera Bread or Starbucks. They give you everything you need including cups and sugar packets. I had a small pitcher of creamer as well.
Create the perfect Mimosa Bar
- Fresh squeeze orange juice is the best way to go. You can squeeze your own, but honestly, who has time for that? My nearby market, offers a variety of freshly squeezed juices for sale in the produce section so that’s the way I also go. I also like to have a variety of juices on hand for different tastes and for combing ( I love orange juice with a splash of pomegranate!). The night before, I poured the juices from plastic containers into glass bottles for serving. I keep these on hand for so many uses
- Have fruit to add to the mimosas. I love raspberries, blueberries and strawberries (diced into small pieces). I wash and fully dry my fruit the night before and store in the glass containers that I will serve the fruit from (easy hack!).
- Choosing a sparkling wine. I usually pick a Proseco that is around $15/bottle. One bottle typically makes about 8-10 mimosas.
- Grab the perfect champange flutes. Since this was an outdoor/casual event, I choose disposable flutes. You can grab a 12 pack here
- Set out a framed printable letting your guests know how to build the perfect mimosa 🙂
Sit back, enjoy your guests and sip the perfect mimosa!
You can easily prep your decor and most of your food/drink the night before, taking the stress off the morning, especially, if hosting on the first day of school! All I did the morning off was finish setting my table. I filled an ice bucket with ice for my sparkling wine, set out my juices, fruit and champagne flutes. I set out my plates, napkins and other serving ware. I filled a glass pitcher with water and grabbed a tote of coffee on the way to school.
Hope you enjoyed this guide and that it helps you the next time you need to host a causal, daytime, gathering.