We know shopping for this upcoming Mothers Day holiday is a little challenging this year. It is kind of hard to not be hyper-aware of every shopping trip and item that is arriving in the mail. Still want to plan something special for the mother of your household? How about building her portable platter full of goodies for all of you to share? Don’t have a platter or a tray for this task? Perhaps your should GIFT her one for Mother’s Day? Can’t do that in time? Just use a large cookie sheet. The goal is to cover the whole surface with grab-able goodies. Do you have a great outdoor dining space, a sun room that is extra perfect in the mornings, or how about a backyard picnic? Treat mom to a special brunch, lunch, or plan an snack and game night that you can all enjoy together.
Build a Brunch Board
Pile up some pancakes or waffles, surround them with yummy fruits and other toppings and don’t forget the bacon! Brunch boards like this are a great family effort for mom because you can delegate tasks separately to many kids and then get everything prepped and piled as a group. TIP: mom won’t care if this spread has homemade or frozen waffles or pancakes so don’t stress.
Get creative by including fun pancake or waffle “toppings” you may have in the pantry like sprinkles or chocolate chips. Another fun idea is to fill up some individual syrup servings using small jars, pitchers, or jars you have.
Let’s Taco ‘Bout How Awesome Mom Is
What’s better than Taco Night? How about Taco Day? Start building your taco grazing board by including a dish of your prepared meat. Then spread out your shells and/or tortillas and add toppings in small piles. Leave a corner of your grazing board for dishes or containers for messier toppings like salsa and sour cream and save some space for jars of hot sauces. End up with some empty spaces on this board? Grab some tortilla chips and fill in your gaps because taco and nachos are always a good idea! Want to add a breakfast twist to this idea? How about adding some eggs into the mix and assembling a build-a-breakfast burrito board?
Building a large board packed with yummy food can help make everything portable for setting up and cleaning up. Many of this work can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the fridge until it is taco time! If you bring your board outside to snack on, be sure to cover and clean up your perishable items so they arent left out too long. Trays make great grazing boards because you can pile your messy dishes right on them for easier clean up. Meals like this are meant to be casual and fun so paper plates are fine (and make for even easier cleanup).
Family Game Night Grazing
Mom always up ahead of everyone else in the house? Then she will see that brunch prep coming won’t she? How about instead you invite her to a family game night and prep an amazing grazing board of snacks to share while she picks out some games? Grazing boards and charcuterie plates are meant for snacking and ideal for sharing. These are a great way to clean out some of the almost-finished packages from your pantry or fridge. Plating one up may seem intimidating on your first try. But once you understand that all you are doing is arranging small piles of items together, it’s easier to be successful. Take a look at this example:
Looks ready for snacking even though it is kind of a mess. As long as you have a fun variety of sweet, salty and savory items you will end up with a successful mix of plenty of interesting colors, shapes, and textures. All I did to dress up the meats in the tray above was change them a little as I unpacked them. One style I shaped into little rolls, and the other is just folded in half once, then again a second time. Meats and cheeses are always great to have on a snack board but don’t forget about some sweets! Here I included some dried pineapple and licorice bites. The truth is, everything looks prettier plated up. You can do this! Have you ever brought home your Big Mac and fries and ditched the drive through packaging for a real plate? Instant upgrade! If you need some added inspiration just check out this board we started on our Pinterest page. Tons of ideas and arrangements to scroll through like S’mores and french fries boards! If you make one be sure to tag us on social media so we can see your creations. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmas, aunties, pet-moms, and female role-models out there!
