8 Party Platter and Cheese Board Arrangement Ideas

Have you been working on your holiday menus?  Do you find yourself browsing online looking for easy appetizer recipes and party platter ideas?

If you’re anything like me its crossed your mind a time or two these past few weeks.  With Thanksgiving rolling up on us quickly, now is the time to iron out your menu plans.

Having a show-stopping appetizer spread is a great way to impress guests at your Holiday Party.

Whether you’re celebrating the end of the year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday, appetizers are likely a part of your game plan.

Quite frankly, if I were presented with an appetizer tray every day of my life I’d be delighted.

There’s just something fun about being able to survey your options and pick and choose exactly what you want.

This week as I was trying to craft a vision for my holiday party spread, I found myself (as I often do) on Pinterest.  There were so many inspiring party platter ideas I just had to share them in a post.

Whether you’re thinking of a fruit platter, a cold cuts tray, cheese board, or hot hors d’oeurves; the thing that really makes your appetizers stand out is how they are displayed.

Here are 8 inspiring party platter arrangements to get your creative juices flowing.

Party Platter and Cheese Board Arrangement Ideas

1. Wreath Platter

This wreath style design is perfect for the holiday season.  It’s very simply laid out but looks gorgeous none the less.

If you don’t have a wide variety of offerings, something like this may be exactly what you need.  This cheese wreath simply breaks down to 4 quadrants with a different type of cheese in each.

To create the green border of the wreath, you could use rosemary, thyme, kale, green lettuce, or even parsley.

2. Caprese Salad Platter

A Caprese salad platter like the one shown below is also a great option for this time of year.

The colors are right on target for Christmas and the arrangement is simply a rotation of basil, tomato, and mozzarella.  In this tray, they added rows of bread and a small dish of olives to complete the look.

This party platter can be viewed in many different ways.  I see the green and red coloring, but you may see an American flag.

Either way, it’s a beautiful arrangement.

3. Cake Pop Platter

Another easy display is cake pops, sans stick.  This dessert tray is simply a variety of cake pops set out with labels.

What really makes this lovely is the clear glass tiered tray.  If you have something like this, let it do the work.

It will effortlessly create a beautiful display when you use a variety of the same size (or shape) desserts.  All you have to do is group your items in clusters of 5 or 6.

Remember not to overcrowd a clear tray like this.  The ability to see from the top tray to the bottom is part of what makes this look so nice.

4. Space Saver Linear Arrangement

This long, linear tray is absolutely perfect for small spaces.

If you have a smaller kitchen island as I do, this trough style arrangement will fit perfectly.  The idea here is to display your food vertically in a clear container.

This allows you to free up counter space without sacrificing the ability to see all of your food.

If you’re cramped for space, consider a vertical party platter like this instead of a traditional wide tray.

5. Fruit Skewers

Fruit skewers are always a great option for styling a platter.  They’re colorful and beautiful.

These require minimal effort when it comes to an arrangement.  Assembling the skewers may take a while.

But, when you’re done all you have to do is stack on a tray and they’ll look great.

This dessert table looks lovely with the mixed berry skewers and some small chocolate brownie desserts.  Notice how the brownies are garnished with blackberries that also appear in the skewers.

This little detail makes this table look cohesive and well planned.

6. Fruit and Cheese Arrangement

A lovely free form platter example is this one below.  There’s a nice balance of color, but it doesn’t stick to a firm pattern.

If you prefer a more whimsical look, something like this may be right up your alley.

7. Platter Alternative

Remember, you can get creative with your containers like this person did below.  So often we see either all white or clear trays.

A unique container can really make your display stand out.

This veggie platter uses a cool wooden crate to contain the arrangements.  Simple, colorful rows of vegetables are used to fill out the tray.

The real star of the show (in my opinion) is the crate.  It’s creative, rustic, and charming.

8. Greek Platter

Yes, please! Every time I see this picture it makes me want to run out to the closest Mediterranean restaurant.

This is really a family-style platter that would be placed at the center of your table.  But, it could just as easily be used for appetizers.

Don’t limit yourself to just cold cuts, fruits, and veggies.  You can arrange a party platter with small hot appetizers or just a sampling of different items as seen below.

Conclusion

That concludes my list of inspiring party platter ideas.  If you’d like to see a step by step guide for arranging a tray please let me know in the comments below.

I hope you found this post helpful.  If you did, please share it with a friend and follow Dianne Decor on Bloglovin’ for more content.

For even more party platter and cheese board ideas check out the Pinterest Board that goes along with this post.