Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to celebrate the lovely ladies in your life. Now that we are settled into our house, I regularly find myself looking for ways to have people over. I would love for our friends and family to think of our house as a home filled with their special memories. If you don’t have a house or aren’t a huge fan of entertaining, organize a girl’s brunch at your favorite restaurant. My family has done that in the past and had so much fun.
Over the last year I have slowly become more comfortable entertaining guests at our house. There’s nothing worse then feeling overwhelmed before, during or after guests arriving. I have a lot to learn, but I’ve definitely picked up a few helpful tips so far. Today, I am sharing three tips that help me to prepare myself to be a good host, along with three Instagram accounts I’ve followed recently. These ladies have been sharing some awesome recipes perfect for a Galentine’s Day Brunch!
Hosting Tips
#1 Plan and Organize: If I am planning a get-together in advance, it’s always a good idea to start planning as soon the date is set. Plan a simple menu and make a grocery list. When planning your menu be sure to consider your guest’s preferences, along with appetizers, main dishes and dessert. I will arrange to have extra tables and chairs {if needed} and of course, fun decor if I’m hosting a special event. I’ll save tips for impromptu entertaining for a separate blog post.
#2 House Prep: I am a neat freak {just ask my husband} and I’m very meticulous about our house. I clean our house regularly, but I like to make sure the house is at its cleanest for guests. I can straighten up the day of or night before, but I don’t want to be scrubbing every inch of the shower the morning of my party. The morning of a party, I will do some light cleaning, quickly clean the bathroom and setup anything needed for my friends.
#3 Food Prep: I try to plan out meals that I can put together in advance. I also try to serve dishes that won’t force me to stand in front of the stove all night. Fruits and veggies can be cut, meats and poultry can be marinated and casseroles can be prepared in advance. Soups and chili can be made early and can simmer on the stove until your guests arrive.
Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest for some more Valentine’s Day inspiration!
The perfect Galentine’s brunch would definitely include pink mimosas and cute decor. I recently bought this inexpensive ‘be mine’ banner to hang on my fireplace mantel. It’s cute and I love that it will barely take up any room to store. It would also be cute to setup a photo back drop and use these cute Galentine’s Day props for pictures.
Instagram Galentine’s
I love following Christina Lane from Dessert for Two. All of her recipes make two servings {perfect for newlyweds}. Everything she makes looks delicious whether it’s dessert, dinner or a snack. Her food photography is beyond beautiful and she has published a few cookbooks. Talk about blogger goals!
Julie Resnikc’s Feedfeed Gluten-Free account is awesome. This account makes it easy to find both gluten-free recipes and new bloggers. If you post a photo and tag #feedfeed you also have a chance of being featured on one of her accounts. This parfait that was posted recently is Valentine’s Day perfection.
Lexi’s Clean Kitchen is one of my favorite accounts to follow. Lexi shares so many gluten-free and paleo recipes. She has a great website and recently publish a cookbook too. I think it is so cool to see bloggers grow and succeed. Lexi’s gluten-free pancake recipe along with these chocolate strawberry cups would be perfect for a Galentine’s brunch.
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