I recently hosted a little “Lunch Bunch” at my house, and it reminded me how much I love a daytime get-together. It’s low pressure, easy to pull together, and somehow feels more relaxed than hosting at night.
I kept everything simple with a pretty table, a spring cocktail, a light menu, and a fun activity. It ended up being one of those gatherings that felt so easy and fun.
If you’ve been wanting to have friends over but don’t feel like doing a full dinner situation, this is such a good place to start. Sharing exactly how I pulled this one together so you can recreate it too.
The Setup
For the table, I kept it really simple and grabbed a few bunches of flowers from Trader Joe’s. Instead of trying to make one big arrangement, I used a mix of bud vases and spread them across the table. This is usually my go-to. It’s so much easier, fills the table beautifully, and I love the mix of heights it creates. It instantly gives that full, layered look without a lot of effort.
- The Best Plates Bowls: We use these daily, but I especially love them for hosting. They were perfect for a light lunch and salads.
- Woven Placemats: I use these 12″ placemats for almost every tablescape. They’re neutral, durable, and just make everything feel a little more put together.
- Bamboo Flatware: Another staple I reach for again and again. They work with everything and are actually dishwasher safe, which makes cleanup easy.
- Bud Vases: I love this affordable set of vintage-style bud vases. The mix of shapes makes it easy to create that layered look without overthinking it.
- Bubble Vases: I added a couple of these in for a little extra height. They help break things up and make the whole table feel more styled.
Signature Cocktail
I always love starting my gatherings with a little welcome cocktail, and for this one I made my favorite summer lemon basil margaritas.
These are my go-to for summer entertaining because they’re fresh, a little unexpected, and always a hit. Think tequila, fresh lemon juice, muddled basil, a splash of elderflower liqueur, and just enough agave to balance it out. It’s such a good twist on a classic margarita.
They’re also really easy to prep ahead. I mixed everything up in a pitcher earlier, and then just poured over ice and added a pretty basil garnish just before the girls arrived.
Then once we made our way to lunch, we switched over to vinho verde which felt light and perfect for a daytime meal.
The Menu
I kept the menu really simple and built it around one main dish. I made two big bowls of my current favorite salad, the Dilly Chop from Caroline Chambers, and it’s always a hit when I serve it.
It’s one of those salads that feels hearty enough to stand on its own, so you don’t really need anything else. It’s packed with fresh dill, toasted pistachios, diced salami, loads of freshly grated parmesan, and finished with a generous handful of salt and vinegar chips on top. So much flavor and such a good mix of textures.
I made extra so everyone could really load up their plates and go back for seconds, which is always the goal with something like this.
For dessert, I kept it easy and picked up almond cookies dusted with powdered sugar from The Fresh Market. Simple, sweet, and the perfect little ending.
A Fun Little Activity
I added a little activity that ended up being way more fun than I expected.
I had everyone write down three fun facts about themselves and throw them into a bowl, then I read them aloud and we all tried to guess who they belonged to.
You definitely don’t need to have an activity, but this ended up being such a funny part of the day. Some of these had us laughing so hard we were literally in tears. I was also genuinely shocked by some of the things I learned. Like finding out one of my best friends of 15 years had once been tear gassed by the police? And she had no idea I broke my hip in a rollerblading accident.
Some of the girls knew each other better than others which made it even more entertaining, and there were definitely a few spicy ones mixed in that I was very much here for.
Lunch > Dinner
There’s just something about a daytime get-together that feels more relaxed, less of a production, and you still have your whole evening after. Highly recommend inviting some girlfriends over for a little Lunch Bunch party.
