I love entertaining. It combines my love of home decor, cooking, planning, organizing and socializing. I have a system that I follow that makes hosting 2 or 50 pretty painless, and I will share my system in another article. My favourite part of any party is putting together a board. It can be big or small, traditional cheeses and meats, desserts, snacks, etc. It's great to make ahead and put out when guests arrive, giving you time to prepare the meal or just have a glass of wine and socialize while your guests graze. I give myself ample time to get creative. I choose a board that is the right size/shape for the occasion. I think about what will be served on the board and also how/where people will be seated. Round works best for smaller groups seated around a table, while long rectangular works best for a buffet or served on a kitchen island. On a long board, I do multiples of the same thing for easy access for people standing on opposite sides. I find vessels inspiring. I usually pick a dip bowl that I like and work around it. I found these cracker trays several years ago and use them all the time. Keeps your crackers from getting soggy if they're next to fruit and gives your board dimension. There's no wrong way to set up your board, step back and give it the eye test, and you will know if you need to add colour, move something around, etc. In the end, it all gets eaten, so you can't really go wrong.
This board is one of my absolute favourites, I use it over and over again as a charcuterie board, snack board and seasonal display tray.