The FIFTH Post-Holiday White Elephant Gift Exchange!

Five years ago, my friend Alex and I threw a party. 

We were just a couple of years out of college, living in our first apartments, and we wanted to show off our skills as "hostesses." Neither of us could cook. We barely knew how to turn on the stove! But we decided to throw a little post-holiday season shindig.... and five years later, that party has since grown into one of my favorite annual events! (Click here for the 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010 parties) :)

I am proud to say that this past weekend, we hosted the FIFTH Annual Post-Holiday White Elephant Gift Exchange... and it was awesome! I look forward to it every single year, and so do all of our friends. More than 25 of them packed into my apartment on Sunday morning  to eat delicious breakfast foods, drink mimosas, and exchange gifts!

Speaking of gifts... here's how we play: we ask everyone to bring the WORST gift they got over the holiday season. It's a twist on the game - you should see some of the horrible gifts people bring! Ugly jewelry, crazy nail polish colors, self-help books, Olive Garden giftcards, CDs by random artists... but by far the best thing someone brought this year was a LIVE BETA FISH! And of course, guess who chose it... that's right, yours truly! It ended up getting "stolen" and ultimately went home with my friend Brooke... it's probably for the best, because she couldn't be more excited about her new pet. Me? I was mostly looking forward to texting Rami to tell him he was a new father.

Onto the food! Last year's event was a brunch, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, so we did it again.



Make-Your-Own-Bagel-Station with fresh bagels, lox, capers, onions, tomato, cucumbers, and whipped cream cheese...



Berry fruit bowl and French toast bread pudding....



Everyone's favorite... goat cheese & green onion quiche with a hash brown crust! I also made a second with a different filling - that one had mushrooms, caramelized onions, and feta cheese :)

Homemade blueberry muffins, cheesecake bites, and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies...



We also had a mimosa bar! We set out bottles of champagne in an ice bucket alongside pitchers of peach iced tea, grapefruit juice, and orange juice, with strawberries and raspberries on the side for garnish. How cute is this?!



Alex and I are best friends from high school. We take this picture every year with all our friends from the class of 2003!



More cute pics with pals :)

I can't wait for many, many more years of this party. Love you ABCY!