Hostess Hack: Unbelievably Easy Breakfast Bar Ideas

These Simple DIY Breakfast Bar Ideas will be your secret weapon for effortless entertaining at a breakfast or brunch party! These breakfast buffet ideas, like our holiday drink station, are the ultimate hosting hack as they come together in just minutes and will have you hosting like a champion with minimal effort.

Is there ever a time of the year when we don’t have the option of hosting guests? In the warmer months is it the Summer traveling. In the colder months, it is all the holidays. Maybe it’s just a simple Sunday brunch. No matter what time of the year it is, you are faced with visiting house guests! Are you prepared?

If your family is anything like mine, you need something to make mornings easier. Not everyone gets up at the same time when we have family visiting. So how do you manage the chore of Breakfast?

There is just no way to have a traditional hot breakfast for everyone when you are all on different schedules. Not unless you want to be stuck cooking a fresh breakfast for each guest individually as they awake. That means hanging out in the kitchen anywhere from 6 am until 11:30 am when the last person arrives for breakfast.

That’s not my idea of fun. I want to be out socializing with them. Not stuck constantly cooking up something for the stragglers.

That is where these simple breakfast buffet ideas come into play. Use it for breakfast party ideas with your girlfriends, brunch setup ideas, or a simple breakfast buffet for visiting guests. You can set this up the night before, and then each guest can enjoy a delicious breakfast at their ease when they wake up.

And you won’t have to be a slave in the kitchen!

These Breakfast Bar Ideas make it simple for each person to serve themselves based on what they desire. And best of all, thanks to using disposable dishes and silverware, there is minimal clean up afterward! Because who really wants to be washing dishes all afternoon either?

How to Set Up a Breakfast Party Board or Table

Now with our supplies in stock, it’s time to set up the Breakfast Bar Table. Most of this you can set up the night before. After you lay out the pastries, bagels, donuts, etc, simply cover them with a plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

Keep the yogurt and milk in the fridge until morning then set them out. You can even place the milk and yogurt into a bucket of ice to help keep it cold throughout the morning.

Everything else you can place the night before and it will be ready for the morning.

I found this adorable WELCOME sign in the holiday section at Dollar General and loved it so much, that I decided to make our entire Breakfast Bar Party in the same style. So I pulled out my galvanized tiered tray and started working from there.

Boxes of cereal take up a lot of space on a table. Instead, pour the cereal into apothecary jars with lids. This helps keep them fresh and takes up a lot less space. And your guests can still see what kind of cereal you have.

My kids absolutely loved the cereal layout! They thought it was so fancy, that they felt really special. And now you don’t have big boxes that easily tip over and spill everywhere.

Include a simple scoop for easy self-service.

You can use various white cake stands to help add some height to your breakfast party table.

Be sure to place the milk near the cereal to make maneuvering around the table with other guests easier.

Make it simple for the company to grab their own dishes. I put them in a galvanized basket with the napkins.

This helped to save space and makes it simple to pick up just one plate and napkin.

Every breakfast needs silverware, so make it fun and simple at the same time. We placed our silverware into mason jars with a cute chalkboard tag. Simply draw a picture of the utensil that is in the jar. Place them on the table next to the items that require a spoon or knife or fork.

Usually, everyone likes yogurt. But I personally love to use a nice greek yogurt as a fruit dip. So portion out the yogurt and fresh berries/fruit into serving bowls.

Fill up your galvanized tray with the biggest pastries. I filled the bottom with a variety of bagels that my family loves.

Then fill the top with the donuts and add in some apples, because inevitably someone will want an apple. If not with breakfast, they will eat it on the go later that day.

Keep your packets of oatmeal and hot cocoa organized by putting them in a simple galvanized bucket.

Don’t forget to include simple disposable hot cocoa cups with lids.

To make it easy, I also include a kettle of hot water. In Germany, we called them a Water Cooker. But I think here in the USA they are called an electric tea kettle? It has a simple base that plugs in, and it can cook a full kettle of water to boiling in under 5 minutes.

This way there is always plenty of hot water for whoever wants to cook up some fresh oatmeal or hot cocoa.

And make sure you have a roll of paper towels close. Because there will inevitably be some spills. Especially if you have kids! So keep that roll close at hand!

Use a simple platter for any additional small pastries you happen to have.

Put the bigger items in the back of the table and smaller items upfront to make it simple to reach and grab.

Lastly, decorate!

Like I said, I just loved this Welcome sign so I taped it to the top of the galvanized tiered tray as the centerpiece. Because I want my company to feel welcome.

Include a simple sign so your guests know what you have to offer. Just like those bistro signs in Europe. Your guests can easily glance and decide what they want to enjoy.

I am crazy for hot cocoa in the cold months. Especially Belgium Hot Chocolate! So I have plenty of these fun Hot Cocoa Bistro signs.

I want my company to feel welcome to enjoy hot cocoa whenever they want. It’s not just for breakfast. So add a few fun hot cocoa signs to invite them to enjoy all day long.

Since we are in the Autumn/harvest season, I added some fun colored leaves to the tabletop.

And a garland of butterfly leaves.

I also wrapped a fun string of lights around the garland before I strung it above the table.

If your company arrives for Christmas, you can have a lot of fun with the winter garlands hanging above the Breakfast Bar Party table. For Spring parties find whimsical garlands with spring flowers.

Now your Breakfast Bar Buffet is all set! Watch your guests be in awe at the amazing spread of choices for breakfast. You can easily include food for everyone.

More Foods To Put on a Breakfast Buffett

Our Breakfast buffet for parties and hosting guests is catered to please my kids, and to be a little like a traditional Continental Breakfast you’d find at a hotel. But that might not please all of your company. So I have even more food ideas for your Breakfast Buffet that you can include.

Depending on who is coming to visit I will change out the food choices.

More food choices you can include in your Breakfast Bar Party table include

• Breakfast Cereal bars
• Fruit salad
• Frozen Waffle Bar w/ various toppings & toaster to warm
• Freezer pancakes & Toaster to warm them
• Breakfast Casseroles
• Rhubarb Muffins
• Peanut Butter Muffins
• Cinnamon Muffins
• Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
• Breakfast Burrito Bar with toppings in individual bowls so they can create their own.
• Crispy bacon on a stick
• Breakfast Burrito Bowls
• Blueberry Scones
• Chocolate Donuts
• Mini Frittatas
• Mini Quiches

We also have some family members who have type 2 diabetes, others who don’t eat flour or sugar, and others who only eat paleo-friendly food. So I also have some Breakfast Bar Ideas for a more conscientious eater. For these guests, you can also include:

• Hard-boiled Eggs
• Several more varieties of fruit such as bananas, grapes, cantaloupe, etc
• Cheese slices & nitrate free sliced meats
• natural nuts
• Triscuit Crackers – no sugar or flour
• Shredded wheat type cereal, again no flour or sugar
• Steel Cut Oats in individual packets
• Cottage Cheese
• Peanut Butter (or other nut butter) w/ fruit slices
• Cooked Quinoa flakes

Next time you have company visiting, make your mornings simple and delightful for everyone. Create a simple Breakfast Bar Party using our Breakfast Bar Ideas. Customize to your own family’s food preferences.