Many families either get up early to make it to sunrise services for Easter or choose to sleep in this morning. If your family is one of them, you may decide to have a brunch rather than fixing breakfast or lunch. Here are some Easter Sunday brunch ideas to continue with celebrating the day in a special way.

Go all out when planning your Easter Sunday brunch. Rather than using only the everyday dishes, create an elaborate tablescape with multiple levels, decorations, and place cards for each person. Light tea light candles even though it’s daylight to add to the ambiance. Vases with fresh flowers (daffodils, crocus, and tulips) would also be nice.

For an Easter Sunday brunch, you might want to offer some of the following to eat:

* Fresh fruit platter with either melted chocolate or cream cheese dip
* Fresh squeezed orange juice, apple juice, or juice cocktails made with sparkling cider or grape juice
* Strawberry and Banana Stuffed French Toast (see below)
* Spinach quiche
* Sausage balls (If someone in your family doesn’t eat pork, you can always use turkey sausage)
* Baked omelet roll or other omelets
* Home-made muffins, biscuits, rolls, or banana nut bread

Strawberry and Banana Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf French bread (cut into 1 1/2 inch slices)
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup chopped banana
6 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 10-ounce package of frozen strawberries in heavy syrup, thawed

Combine the jam, cream cheese, and fruit in a small bowl to make the filling. Then, after you’ve cut your bread into 1 1/2 inch slices, make a pocket in each one by cutting a slit into the bread from almost the top to the bottom on one side. Put a heaping tablespoon of filling into the pocket and then close the pocket by pressing the sides together.

Beat together the eggs and the milk. Use this to soak the bread, being sure to coat both sides.

In a large skillet, heat three tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Place one to two pieces of coated bread into the pan and cook until it is golden brown. Flip the bread and cook the other side. You may want to heat your oven to 150 degrees for the cooked French toast if you have quite a bit to make. This will help keep it warm until all of it is cooked.

Perhaps you’ve never made stuffed French toast and don’t know if it’s something you want to tackle. The recipe really is simple; in fact, it’s so simple you may want to have this delicious French toast for breakfast on normal weekend mornings. This recipe makes about eight servings, so if you’re planning on more for your brunch, you can easily increase the recipe to have enough for everyone.

When you plan your Easter Sunday brunch, use these ideas as a springboard. You’re likely to come up with many more menu ideas or ways to decorate to make this year’s Easter brunch a huge success!