The Perfect Mother’s Day Brunch x May & Xia

Happy Mother’s Day lovies!! Actually this blog is going up a week before Mother’s Day. WHY is that you wonder?? Well not all of us are planners. Today’s lives are so jammed packed it can be downright impossible to keep up. Mother’s Day kinda sneaks up and before you know it all the restaurants are booked. And don’t even THINK about doing a walk-in day of, you gonna keep your Mamas waiting thinking only one thing… ‘I’ll be damned, didn’t even remember to make a reservation early enough.’  If you are reading this blog 1 week out from Mother’s Day and you DID NOT remember to book a bougie brunch for the special mother(s) in your lives, I got you covered!!  My babies, May (25) Xia (19), proved that you can create a love filled, elevated, delicious, and beautiful at-home Mother’s Day brunch that will have your special ladies feeling like they are at high tea at the Peninsula… all with stuff scored at Trader Joes!!

Okay so, Xia was on sweets and May on savories.  As for Me, well, I was on tasting duty!!  And let me tell you I enjoyed every moment!! So nice to be pampered by one’s babies!!  And guess what? I put them on blog duty too! May and Xia are sharing their tips below for creating the perfect Mother’s Day brunch. So without further ado, take it away May and Xia. 

Mother’s Day Brunch x May

As a daughter celebrating a mama, sometimes planning ahead just falls between the cracks and at some point in time hand painted projects just don’t cut it anymore. However, that doesn’t mean the ones you love won’t appreciate something you made just for them!

So for this Mother’s Day, if you find yourself in a bind, don’t stress because your mama will always appreciate a thoughtful meal they can share with you, pretty much anywhere! 

All the dishes can be modified, to fit the palette of the tea party members and are done with pretty much one package of each ingredient.

Finger sandwiches. The simpler, the better. 

Trader Joe’s Shopping List:

• Loaf of white bread (I picked milk bread, we’re not counting calories today)
• Loaf of ciabatta 
• One pack of whipped cream cheese (this can be exchanged for a vegan cheese substitute) 
• One pack of chives
• One pack of lox
• Pesto spread
• Mozzarella disks
• One jar of red pepper spread

Sandwiches: 

• Cucumber and cream cheese with chives sandwiches served on milk bread (light and fresh)
• Open face Salmon lox and cream cheese with chives served on milk bread (smokey)
• Crusty open faced caprese pesto sandwiches on toasted ciabatta, topped with a red pepper jam. (a little spicy)

These are three super simple but classic tea sandwiches I chose to put together for the Mother’s Day celebration and they were specifically chosen for the overlap of ingredients but variety in flavors. And the beauty of this entire process is that you can put as much effort as you want or as little, whatever works! So if you have a banging pesto recipe use it or just buy the premade one!

Putting these together follows the normal process of making sandwiches, but when you cut them into little bite size pieces, that’s when it’s transformed into a treat.

Mother’s Day Brunch Desserts x Xia

When it came time to decide what to do for Mother’s Day I thought why not give my mom the kind of day that I would want to have if I was a mom. As a trio of tea lovers and foodies, May and I thought that this would be the perfect idea to give our mom the tearoom experience, but without the empty piggy bank.

Trader Joe’s Dessert Shopping List:

• Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Sheet Cake
• Dark Chocolate Ganache Sheet Cake
• Mini Croissants
• Vanilla Bean Scones
• French Macarons
• Lemon Curd
• Sweet Rose Coconut Whipped Topping
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Mint (for garnish)

For my portion of the brunch I decided to go with little cakes, as it’s not only a classic high tea dessert, but because they’re absolutely adorable. For this you can either bake a cake, or if you run out of time like me, go to your local store to buy pre-made cake and cut them into little cakes with a cookie cutter. The best part is you can then decorate them in any way you want! Since my mom loves fruit, I used blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries as the decoration. And if you’re feeling extra fancy, some mint can serve as the perfect garnish. 

I also made sure to have a variety of desserts like scones (another high tea classic), mini croissants, and macarons because they’re yummy and cute too!

For the ultimate high tea experience, we decorated with a few simple floral arrangements and even brought out my mom’s beautiful china. It was a beautiful day in LA so we sat outside for a picnic style Mother’s Day brunch. I love spoiling my mom and seeing her so happy.

Happy Mother’s Day mommy! 💗