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These Christmas brunch ideas are everything I love about Christmas morning: an easy make-ahead menu, festive drinks and a pretty table that’s set the night before. I usually host Christmas brunch at my house, and then we head to our families for Christmas dinner. Hosting just one big meal means I actually get to enjoy my family too. And on Christmas morning, nobody opens a single present until I’ve made my coffee!
If you’re planning the whole holiday, you’ll also love my Christmas cocktails, my Christmas table decorations, and my favorite brunch recipes for any time of year.
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Pin ItWhat Makes These Christmas Brunch Ideas So Easy
- Every recipe is one I’ve made for my own family and tested here on Sugar and Charm.
- Almost everything can be made or prepped the night before.
- The menu is simple: one egg dish, one sweet treat, fruit, and a meat like bacon, sausage or ham.
- Drinks are easy and self-serve, with options for grown-ups and kids.
- The table gets set the night before, so the morning stays calm.
Easy Christmas Brunch Menu
A Christmas brunch doesn’t need to be complicated. If you have an egg dish, something sweet, fruit and a meat, your brunch will be so good, and everyone will be happy! Here are my favorites from Sugar and Charm.
Savory Christmas Brunch Recipes
Cheesy frittata: I’ve been making this frittata with green chiles, pimentos and lots of cheese for years, and guests always rave about it. I whisk the eggs and cheese the day before, then bake it in my cast iron pan on Christmas morning.
Christmas morning casserole: Sausage, bread and cheddar in a creamy egg mixture. You put it together the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning.
Chorizo quiche: A quiche is always a great brunch option, and this one has so much flavor.
Serve any of these with bacon, sausage or a ham, and you’re all set.
Sweet Christmas Brunch Recipes
Eggnog cinnamon rolls: These are the most festive cinnamon rolls! Let them rise overnight in the fridge and bake them in the morning. If you’d rather keep it classic, try my easy cinnamon rolls.
French toast puffs: Little bites of French toast rolled in cinnamon sugar. These are the one thing I make fresh in the morning, and they disappear fast!
Waffle bar: Set out my Belgian waffles with toppings and let everyone build their own. Kids love it!
Fluffy pancakes: Serve them with my homemade gingerbread syrup for a Christmas twist.
Monkey bread muffins and orange cranberry muffins: Easy to grab and perfect for a brunch buffet.
Fruit for Christmas Brunch
My Christmas fruit platter is shaped like a wreath, and it’s the prettiest thing on the table. A big bowl of fresh berries works too!
Christmas Brunch Drinks
My Christmas morning always starts with a coffee bar, and then the bubbly comes out! These are my favorite drinks for Christmas brunch.
Mimosas: The cranberry mimosa in the recipe card below is my go-to for Christmas. You can also set out a classic mimosa or a Prosecco mimosa, and a virgin mimosa for anyone skipping the alcohol.
Festive cocktails: The poinsettia cocktail, Christmas martini, cranberry thyme gin and tonic, gingerbread Moscow mule and cranberry Moscow mule are all so pretty on a holiday table.
Punch: A big bowl of Christmas punch or candy cane punch makes serving a crowd so easy. My non-alcoholic Christmas punch is perfect for kids.
Eggnog: Homemade eggnog is such a Christmas morning treat, and it’s one of my favorites.
Hot chocolate: For the kids (and me!), make a pot of my homemade hot chocolate or peppermint hot chocolate, or set up a holiday hot chocolate bar.
For kids, I also like sparkling apple juice in a fancy glass so they feel included. For more ideas, see my Christmas cocktails and brunch cocktails.
Make-Ahead Christmas Brunch Plan
The secret to an easy Christmas brunch is doing almost everything the night before. Here’s how I plan it.
The Night Before Christmas Brunch
- Set the table, glassware and napkins. If I wait until the morning, it just doesn’t happen!
- Whisk the eggs and cheese for the frittata, or put together the Christmas morning casserole and keep it in the fridge.
- Shape the eggnog cinnamon rolls and let them rise overnight in the fridge.
- Chill the bubbly, juice and anything else for the drinks.
- Set out your coffee bar so it’s ready to go.
Christmas Morning
- Make the coffee first. Presents can wait!
- Pull the cinnamon rolls out so they can come to room temperature, then bake them along with the frittata or casserole.
- Make the French toast puffs fresh.
- Set out the fruit platter and drinks, and let everyone serve themselves.
Christmas Brunch Table Setting
For this brunch, I went with a snowy look (I’d been dreaming of a snowy cabin vacation!), with white and gold dishes I already had, gold flatware and lots of flocked greens in small white vases. For the full look, you’ll need about 15 to 20 small vases. HomeGoods, Target and Walmart all have great options. The fuzzy white table runner is just faux fur fabric that I cut to size, no sewing needed!
I folded white napkins into Christmas trees for each place setting, and you can watch how to do it in the video in this post. For more ideas, see my Christmas table decorations, my charming Christmas table setting and my guide to Christmas decorations.
Eden’s Tips for Christmas Brunch
I’ve been hosting and developing recipes for Sugar and Charm for over 16 years (and wrote a whole book on it, Entertaining with Charm!), and these are my best tips for an easy Christmas brunch.
Pick one big meal. I usually host Christmas brunch and let family take care of Christmas dinner. Doing both is just too much, and I want to enjoy my family too.
Choose make-ahead recipes. Make one thing fresh in the morning at most, and prep everything else the night before.
Make drinks self-serve. A coffee bar and a pitcher of mimosas mean you’re not stuck playing bartender. My drink stations post has lots of easy setups.
Keep waffles and pancakes warm. Keep them on a baking sheet in a low oven until everyone is ready to eat.
Add a little Christmas to everything. Cranberry, cinnamon, gingerbread and eggnog make any recipe feel festive.
Christmas Brunch FAQs
I like an egg dish (like a frittata or casserole), something sweet (like cinnamon rolls or French toast puffs), fruit and a meat like bacon, sausage or ham. Add mimosas, juice and coffee, and you have a full Christmas brunch menu.
A lot! My Christmas morning casserole is put together the night before, the frittata eggs and cheese can be whisked ahead, and the eggnog cinnamon rolls rise overnight in the fridge. You can also set the table and chill the drinks the night before.
Set the table the night before, put the food out buffet-style so everyone can serve themselves, and set up a coffee bar and a drink station. That way you can enjoy the morning too.
At my house, we have coffee and open presents first, then sit down for brunch. Plan it for whenever your family usually finishes opening gifts.
Sparkling apple juice in a pretty glass, non-alcoholic Christmas punch, virgin mimosas and hot chocolate are all big hits with kids.
Keep waffles, pancakes and French toast on a baking sheet in a low oven until it’s time to eat. Casseroles and frittatas stay warm in their baking dish for a while, so serve them right from the pan.
More Christmas Recipes
You can find all of my favorite holiday recipes, drinks and party ideas in my Christmas collection. And if you’re hosting the kids for a fun afternoon, my gingerbread house party is always a hit!
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Christmas Brunch Mimosa
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Champagne
- 2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1/2 ounce orange liqueur
- 3 cranberries
Instructions
- Pour the Champagne, cranberry juice and orange liqueur into a Champagne flute.
- Add the cranberries.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
There is no link to a tutorial for folding a napkin into a Christmas tree. I searched your blog site for it, but did not find it. I would like the instructions! I printed your fritatta recipe; plan to try it soon. Thanks.
Hi Linda! There is a video for it on that post. You can watch the video to see how we made it. That frittata recipe is one of my FAVES! You will love it!
Cannot find the video for the folding instructions either. Thank you for sending the link. Greetings from Germany