It’s that time of year again! Mother’s Day is around the corner. While it’s fair to guess a large majority of moms out there really want a day completely to themselves—neither filled with flowers, nor candy, nor breakfast boards in bed, rather, plain old uninterrupted time at home—we recognize there’s an even bigger majority of well-intentioned partners planning to go the breakfast-in-bed route. So, if you’re one of them, look no further. We have all the most luxe ways to treat her this Mother’s Day.

We could just link to this NYT Cooking article, ‘Ideas for Mother’s Day Breakfast & Brunch,’ but that leaves a lot to be desired for all those hoping to pull off a perfect breakfast-in-bed on her special morning. Although, if you’re looking for great recipes you can cook with your kids, this editors’ collection really is fantastic.

Otherwise, onto the next best thing: the snack board—or, in this case, the breakfast board, aka the casual yet chic cousin to the sometimes-stuffy cheese board. We LOVE snack boards because not only are they far simpler to put together than one would think based on how elegant they look, but they can act as appetizers, desserts, or even entire meals for the whole family. Plus, they make beautifully entertaining displays that offer a variety of tastes, textures, colors and even culinary experiences at once. So, this Mother’s Day, we recommend you grab your nicest platter and get to Mother’s Day breakfast-boarding.

Mother’s Day Breakfast Board Ideas: Do’s & Don’ts

• You don’t actually need a nice serving platter! Any cutting board will do (in fact, some even lend themselves well to a wonderfully-rustic breakfast board look).
• Include actual breakfast food staples like pancakes or waffles. If you want to get super creative, you can add crepes.
• Fruit, fruit, fruit. No cheese board looks better than one with fresh figs, so if you can find them, we highly recommend it. Equally great options are grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and sliced apples, oranges, pears, kiwis or grapefruit (basically, any fruit will do).
• If she eats meat, we recommend bacon, sausages, or, if you’re feeling extra creative, even that TikTok prosciutto flower trend.
• Fillers—arguably the most important part— we love carbs like mini croissants, quiches, pastries, donuts, bagels or anything else she loves.
• For healthier options, you can never go wrong with a wheel of brie, an assortment of crackers and jams, scrambled, baked, fried or hard-boiled eggs, yogurt with granola, or even plain old, albeit delicious, toast and jam.
• Honey, marmalade, sauces, toppings. Don’t forget to get ramekins or small bowls to fill with any jam, honey, maple syrup, chia pudding, greek yogurt, butter, or anything else that’s needed to complement the bigger items.
• Pay attention to texture. Include variations of foods and textures to make it pop.
• Pay attention to color. Separate bright, fun colors and make sure to move them around rather than keep them all together.
• For the final touch, add a garnish. We’re partial to flower petals (bonus if they’re edible flowers) and clementines with the leaves attached, but really any greenery will do. Apple leaves, orange leaves, and fresh herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme or even olive branches are all great choices.
• Don’t leave any gaps or empty spaces! It should be as packed as possible.
• Try to aim for a mix of sweet and savory!

So, how to put the board together and have it look like this?

Prep

Slice cheese, fruit, meats or anything else. Gather the serving bowls you’ll need for any fruits, jams or spreads.

Outline

Start with your biggest items. For example, layout the waffles, mini croissants, strawberries, etc. first. You can opt to lay them out diagonally across the board to give it some symmetry, or you can place the bigger items in small piles spread across 2-3 different areas randomly.

Fill and pile

Fill in the spaces starting from the edge of the board. You can create both lines and piles using different cheeses, fruits, crackers, etc., or you can fill by outlining or circling the biggest items you’ve already laid out. Don’t forget to leave space for any bowls or ramekins.

Stuff

Once the main ingredients are laid out, fill in gaps and spaces so you have a variety of bright colors wherever you look. Put blackberries or strawberries at random throughout for an eye-catching touch.

Garnish

Whether edible flowers, fresh herbs, clementines with leaves, or anything else, save this for last and choose two key spots to garnish at random.

We hope you love these easy breakfast ideas for Mother’s Day, and we wish the happiest Mother’s Day to all our Moshi moms out there!

Alexandra Amodio