Brunch Party Theme Idea: Toast and Jams

This easy party theme for brunch pairs fun tunes with a make-your-own toast bar. Get it – Toast and Jams!? It’s great for lazy weekends at home with friends but is an idea that can be grown to use for a full-on party like a baby or bridal shower. Crank the music and butter your bread, it’s time to get this party started.

A brunch table holding fresh flowers and trays of bagels and breads. — Let’s plan an easy brunch at home.

This brunch idea and party DIY was sponsored by Balloon Time Helium Tanks.

A fun party idea for brunch

This brunch theme is super simple to execute and won’t have you getting up in the middle of the night to prepare everything! That’s a brunch win in my book!

My favorite part of planning parties is the planning! Hosting guests can be a lot of work, but the menu planning and party decor is where I shine.

On the blog, you’ll find lots of party themes. But I always keep them simple but scalable. That means that you can use them with just 1 or two friends or a large-scale party.

Related: Cinnamon Toast Bar Idea

There are just a few things that are essential to a successful brunch, in my opinion. Yummy food, mimosas and great music.

As far as decorations go, keep things easy with just a few focal points. If this was a brunch to celebrate a birthday, I would add in some more colorful balloons to make it feel more festive.

And I’ll show you two easy balloon DIYs that you can use to add some cute detail to the party.

Toast Bar Ideas

I like to keep things simple. My house is small and the space is tight so I like to serve the food right on the table for easy reach and guests can either sit there or move to the living room.

A breakfast table with a tray holding a variety of toasts and jams plus a danish for a brunch.

Set out trays, which you can have styled and ready to go before the first guest shows up. Some ideas for what to serve on your toast bar:

Several types of bread (some toasted, some not)
Plain and Flavored bagels
Raspberry Jam Danish

You can have a toaster set up so people can toast their own bread and bagels if they prefer but I like to start with a few pieces already toasted to keep things moving.

Be sure to serve some plain flavors or savory that would go well with the avocado toppings but you can also serve some flavored breads to pair with the jams.

A tray holding a variety of jams, smashed avocado and nut butters for a brunch.

Set out the toppings in their containers on a tray with spoons and/or knives. Here are some ideas

A variety of fruit jams
Nutella
Nut butters
Smashed avocado
Cream Cheese
Butter

A woman spreading jam onto a piece of toast at a brunch table.

You can make this as elaborate or as simple as you’d like.

You can take it a step further and think about seasonings or ways to add even more detail to the toast.

Salt and red pepper flakes for the avocado toast (plus anything else that you feel like would go well, like arugula or pickled onions or feta cheese, etc.).
Mini chocolate chips
Sliced bananas or other fruit
Honey to drizzle on

These brunch ideas are all about having your friends over, giving them a fun experience and enjoying the morning right along with them.

And I use cute paper plates to keep clean up easy.

What Drinks to Serve

Woman holding a balloon that says MIMOSA standing next to a bar cart with mimosa ingredients.

A bar cart is always a great party idea so you can move it out of the way if an area gets too crowded. But if you don’t have one you can always claim a section of your kitchen counter for the drinks.

For your brunch, the classic mimosa is always a good idea. That also means there will be plain orange juice for the non-drinkers.

More brunch cocktail ideas

A cocktail recipe written in cursive on a mylar balloon attached to a bar cart with ingredients on it.

I decided to include a signature cocktail with jam in it to go along with this brunch theme. I can’t find the recipe I used but here’s a Raspberry Jam Cocktail that sounds delish.

I asked Tammy, of Letters to You to write out the recipe for me because her writing is THE BEST! (She’s also my sometime photographer. She’s super talented!) She used a Sharpie Oil Paint Pen and wrote right on the balloon after it was blown up.

I thought was a fun way to add a pop of color to the space and provide valuable information that was easy to see.

Balloon DIY #1: To make it, you simply inflate the cube balloon with a helium tank, then write out the recipe with a Sharpie. Easy.

Music

While you probably have some music at most of your parties, since this one is lightly music themed, it should be thought about beforehand.

Your brunch playlist should start off smooth and easy then move toward the more rocking songs. Make sure your guests have at least had one cup of coffee before any Guns N Roses comes on.

I remember having breakfast in a restaurant in Portland and they were blaring 90s rap. And that is what was in my head when planning this party idea. You can use this rap playlist of mine or the one I made to listen to rap while sipping rosé on the patio.

Decorations

Fresh flowers always help to make it feel like you put in some effort for your guests (but really don’t take much time at all.) I used empty jam jars to create the little arrangements on the table.

Woman holding a white balloon with Drake on it.

Finding unique balloons is a really fun way to add personality to your party space. Keeping a helium tank at home allows you to easily decorate for your party without having to struggle to fit all the balloons in the back of your car.

This Drake balloon was also so perfect for this party theme that I had to get it.

And to make the party extra memorable for your guests, you should absolutely send them home with their very own Drake balloon party favor.

Woman adding letter stickers to a blown up white mylar balloon on a table next to a helium tank.

I love to customize balloons to make party signs also. Using a simple mylar balloon and some stickers let me make a balloon say whatever I want.

Balloon DIY #2: Blow up a white mylar balloon with a helium tank. Add a word or words with letter stickers. So simple.

In all my balloon posts I like to mention that you need to consider the weight of any material that you add to your balloon. These stickers were pretty thick and the weight of them made the balloon front heavy.

To fix this, you can duplicate the saying on the reverse side of the balloon. I always try to use a really lightweight string or ribbon to secure the balloon so that it isn’t contributing to the overall weight.

Too much weight on your balloon will be too much for the helium to keep afloat.

Balloon DIYs and party decorations are super easy with a Balloon Time tank.

Your brunch ideas don’t need to be super elaborate but put a little thought into the details to make the party cohesive. Having little surprises around each turn is what guests remember!

Images by Dez and Tam Photography