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How to Host a Back To School Party [Mom’s Champagne Brunch]

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These ideas for How to Host a Back to School Party will help you celebrate the kids getting back in the classroom!

With a mimosa and iced coffee bar, along with a delicious menu with quick and easy brunch recipes, your mom friends will thank you for kicking off the new school year in style.

A decorated buffet table for a back to school brunch party with champagne and coffee.

With the kids headed back to school, it’s the perfect time to get together for a fun brunch!

I was super flattered when Abigail of Paper and Cake asked me to collaborate (along with Kristin of Meringue Bake Shop) with her on a styled post she wanted to do for a back-to-school brunch idea.

Abigail is a very talented graphic designer and party stylist who makes hosting parties at home easy for moms with her printable party themes. (She also helped me create some decor for my Ice Cream Party!)

Back to school is a reason to party

Especially after the last year, this back-to-school year is so much more celebratory. While the school experience might not look exactly like it used to, things feel like they are getting back to normal.

A Back to School Party is a fun way to gather your mom friends and celebrate the new year. After so much time feeling disconnected, this is a fun way to catch up and re-build that community that makes the school year so much fun.

Hosting a brunch to start after drop-off is a great idea. You can prep the day before and when the party wraps up, you’ll still have most of your day. It’s a great way to see friends in a low-stress way.

Plus you can download the geometric themed set for a back to school brunch which will help create a fun atmosphere with very little effort.

How to Host a Back to School Brunch

A kitchen counter with food for a Back to School brunch party.

Plan Your Menu

With the decorations taken care of thanks to the printable package above, it’s time to plan the brunch menu.

These ideas are easy and delicious and won’t take too much time to make. You can even make it a potluck if you prefer.

What to Eat

Overhead shot of plates of toast, scrambled eggs, and bowls of pesto and goat cheese.

A breakfast bruschetta is a fun idea that you can turn into a DIY station. Just toast some bread, scramble some eggs and set out delicious accompaniments to jazz it up. Goat cheese, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes are a tasty way to dress up standard eggs.

A triangle plate with toast pieces topped with goat cheese, scrambled eggs and sun-dried tomatoes for brunch.

You can also set out avocado since avocado toast is still super trendy. It’s probably never going away…and I’m ok with that.

If you want to make things even easier, just set out a Cinnamon Toast Buffet! It’s a sweet idea. Get it?

Small jars holding panna cotta made with cereal milk for a back to school brunch menu.

Cereal Milk Panna Cotta is the move. I fell in love with panna cotta when I had it at my birthday celebration shoot. And it’s actually pretty easy to make!

This particular panna cotta was breakfast cereal flavored! SO YUMMY! The milk was infused with frosted flakes and rice krispies and then used to make the custardy treat. I wish you guys could taste it!

meringue bake shop

Did you know that a Donut Trifle is a thing? It is and it’s a perfect recipe to include on you back to school brunch menu.

Donut Trifle on a table for a back to school brunch.

This is an easy way to serve donuts, which you know, everyone loves! Some cream and fresh raspberries makes this look extra special.

I love to make a Pumpkin Trifle in the fall, but this donut version is great any time! Or use donut holes to create a Faux Croquembouche if you want to make a really showstopping treat.

DIY Beverage Station

A framed drink menu for a mimosa and iced coffee station.

For the beverage station, there are two options. A make your own mimosa area and an iced coffee area. I always like to set out a printed menu to give my guests ideas of what they can make.

Woman holding a mimosa in a wine glass.

Mimosas are a go-to for any brunch. They are easy to make and you just need two ingredients. Setting out orange juice and champange in an ice bucket means the guests can serve themselves and make their drink to their liking (just a splash of OJ for me).

Take it up a notch and serve Kombucha Mimosas as well! It’s a fun twist that your guests will love. Or try Watermelon Mimosas!

If you prefer to not serve alcohol, you can create a non-alcoholic mimosa bar. It’s still a super fun way for guests to make their own drinks.

Or you can serve another signature drink that is perfect for brunch:

Overhead view of a pitcher with iced coffee.

Iced Coffee is a must for any brunch party. You can either brew your own coffee (extra strong!) and serve it over ice or buy a store-bought version to keep things super easy. Trader Joe’s has a delicious cold brew concentrate.

If you brew your own, consider making my spiced iced coffee! It’s a detail that will create tasty memories for your guests.

Close up of a bottle holding homemade flavored coffee creamer.

Sure, you could serve regular cream for the coffee station. But you can also make your own homemade coffee creamer! It’s super simple to make and you can make it in a ton of delicious flavors.

Or just set out a few store-bought creamers. Putting them into your own containers keeps your brunch feeling more homemade and keeps the look cohesive.

Brunch Decorations

Orange flowers in a vase for a back to school brunch.

The printables do the heavy lifing for this party, for sure. It keeps things feeling very styled and planned out but is so simple.

Depending on how much energy you want to put into the decorations, you can pick and choose which items you want to create. Clearly, the geometric wall decorations will take longer than just cutting out some triangles.

Adding in some fresh flowers in complimentary colors is an easy way to add more interest. Even a bundle of baby’s breath adds some life to the party but is super inexpensive.

I thought these orange flowers went perfectly with the geometric feel of the party.

Ruffles from plastic tablecloth are another fun and easy party decoeration idea. And using big balloons is always a fun idea.

Pouring creamers into a glass of iced coffee.

Do you guys love this back to school brunch and printables as much as I do? You can find them right here.

And it’s up to you whether you use all the pieces or just a few of them. Adding a simple shape to the straws can really play up the overall brunch party theme.

But I understand that some people don’t want to put (or don’t have the time to put) that much energy into a quick back to school party for adults.

Woman holding an egg on toast.

Put on a chill playlist for some background atmosphere and you’re all set!

With these easy ideas for how to host a back to school party, you can create a fun event for you mom friends that will kick off the school year right!

Tips and Tricks

  • Premake as much of the food as you can the day before to keep the morning of stress-free.
  • As you will want to probably take your kids to school on the very first day of school, make sure you set the start time late enough for you to do that. Or plan this for a few days (to a few weeks) into the school year.
  • Make it a potluck to keep things super easy.
  • Use as many store-bought items as you can to cut down on prep time.

This post was originally published on September 12, 2013 and has now been updated with more ideas and better instructions for how to host a back to school party for adults.

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22 Comments

  1. justine b says:

    Love the way that all turned out, and so pretty to look at! I bet it was delicious!

    1. Wouldn’t that be so fun!? Hanging out with other moms instead of folding laundry while the kids are in school? :)

  2. So cute! you are my hero. I can cook, but my parties usually consist of red plastic cups and dixie plates. When it comes to crafting I suck!

    1. Aw thanks! There is a time and a place for a red plastic cup. Sometimes wine just tastes better out of them. ;) Don’t think that all my parties look like this one.

  3. A donut trifle is brilliant. I love trifles. Any recipes from this to share? I’d never have a BTS brunch but I’d use these at the holidays!

  4. WOW! It all looks amazing and breakfast foods and brunch spreads are my favorite. Well done, ladies!

  5. Love!!! I’m a coffee fanatic and the creamers are like whoa. You hate sun dried tomatoes?! Yummo. ;)
    Adorable display and such a great collab!

    1. Thank you, Melissa! I think you will LOVE these creamers! And yes, keep the sundried tomatoes out of my face.

  6. wow! everything looks so gorgeous! What a great job you gals did. Woohoo!

  7. So fun doing this! Thanks for letting me take a part. I’ve got to make another donut trifle. Maybe something fall themed??

    1. Yes, you better make another donut trifle. And you better make sure I’m there to eat it. ;)

  8. I love every single part of this party. Amazing job girls!

  9. This thing is perfect! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on collaborating too. I’ve been dreaming up a Christmas/Winter holiday shoot forever and thanks to this post, finally emailed someone I would like to work with. Fingers crossed. I’ve never done an inspiration shoot before-it’s always real parties which are chaotic craziness. I love the idea of only needing 3 to 6 of everything vs. 25 to 50. :)

    1. I’m so excited for you to do a collaboration. They are super fun and let you be extra creative.

  10. WOW!!! Everything looks AMAZING… the food, decorations, every detail…Love it!

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