It’s almost Mother’s Day…well, not exactly – but it will be here in no time. I have shared with you how we often host brunch for Mother’s Day and invite some of the moms of the family. I prefer to host an event, early in the day and that way I don’t have to spend the day visiting everyone and I also get the rest of the day to myself.
Every year I do something a little different (except for the menu, which is almost always the same thing) as far as the gifts that I give the moms. Some years I have set a pretty table and I line the table with orchids and each orchid is the gift for the moms. It’s a great idea because the orchids adorn your party and also serve as gifts. This year I wanted to do something a little different so I was going to make baskets for each mom to gift them after the brunch. Then I thought it would be fun to let everyone make their own basket.
Most baskets this time of the year resemble Easter baskets but I was able to find these simple little crates that would also work for Mother’s Day. They were only $3.00 each which was great!
I added a little bag of paper shreds to each crate. That way each person could line their basket before filling it up.
The idea was that everyone can pick one item from all the groupings to add to their basket. One of the items the moms could choose from were coffee mugs. I loved the “mom” one which was perfect for this event. It will probably be the first to go!
Also, inside each mug is a pack of instant coffee.
Naturally, to go with the coffee and the pretty mugs, some indulgent coffee creamer. I chose a few of the NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamers. I purchased quite a few flavors but the most popular were the chocolate boutique flavors – Salted Caramel, the Chocolate Toffee Truffle and the Cafe Mocha.
Of course, nothing says pampering for mom like a candle. These were so pretty in the rose gold tone which perfectly matched the tablescape.
I thought it was a fun idea to add a jar full of nail polishes so that everyone could pick their own. It was the area that everyone stood the longest, picking out their shade.
Stationary and pencils. Hello Spring!
Here are a few pictures of everyone making their baskets or the kids making the baskets for the mom.
Every time that I host something like this in my home, my favorite thing to see is all the generations coming together.
Every basket looked a little different and that was the idea!
This little one needed some assistance making the basket, but no help was needed in making his mom feel special. Love that little one!
Like I mentioned, my Mother’s Day brunch menu rarely changes. I served some cookies, a frittata and a salad. I made the frittata that the Barefoot Contessa makes which was inspired by the owner of Loaves & Fishes in the Hamptons. I love all of her recipes but this one is my favorite. I do make some adaptations like the cooking time and the original recipe calls for basil, which the adults tend to love and the boys…not so much, so I omitted that.
Potato Frittata
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
2 cups peeled and 1/2-inch diced boiling potatoes (4 potatoes)
8 extra-large eggs
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3/4 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch (oven-proof) pan over medium-low heat. Add the potatoes and fry them until cooked through, turning often, about 20 minutes. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a small dish in the microwave.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, then stir in the ricotta, Gruyere, melted butter, salt, pepper. Sprinkle on the flour and baking powder and stir into the egg mixture.
Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata for 1 hour, until it is browned and puffed. It will be rounded and firm in the middle and a knife inserted in the frittata should come out clean.
Note: Sometimes I substitute swiss cheese for the gruyere. Nothing quite substitutes the nuttiness of the gruyere, but it will do if you don’t have it available.
Of course my mom said “don’t you dare post that picture of me eating.” Haha. There you go. You still look good mom!
We clearly celebrated Mother’s Day early to be able to present you with this idea, but we enjoyed it so much that we are thinking of replicating it for the actual Mother’s Day brunch.
The variety of creamers that were in my baskets were found in Walmart and you can find a $0.75 coupon HERE. Actually, a lot of the little items that went into the baskets were also picked up at Walmart.
