How I Make Party Boards That Wow (and Some of My Favorite Tools)
There’s something about a well-styled board that instantly elevates any gathering. Whether you’re hosting a baby shower, setting out sweets for the holidays, or just making your game night with friends feel festive, I love creating party boards that feel thoughtful and a little extra—but are secretly very easy to pull together.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the right tools make a big difference. I use this wooden round tray nearly every time—it’s the perfect size for a table centerpiece, feels sturdy, and makes everything look more intentional.
Here are a few of my favorite party board setups:
A Classic Charcuterie for Baby Showers
One of my favorite spreads ever—a soft blue-and-white themed board filled with meats, cheeses, crackers, berries, and little sweets. I used these mini ramekins to hold honey and jam, as well as a bigger one for the cream cheese and pepper jelly, and added these bamboo appetizer forks to make serving easier. You can also get a lot of use from a basic serving utensil kit. My favorite touch? I used a fondant letter stencil kit to cut out the baby’s name in cheese. You could use this to spell out whatever you’re celebrating—the possibilities are endless.
An Easter Dessert Board
Think pastel everything. I loaded this circular tray (which I love because it is HUGE and the lip around it holds everything in on chaotic board like this) with macarons, jelly beans, Easter cookies, and cupcakes from Publix, then tucked in a few mini Reese’s Eggs and a Lindt chocolate bunny and a few carrots for good measure. What I love most is how easy it is to assemble—you just add in your big items and fill in gaps with candy. Just trust the process…it will look crazy at first.
A Christmas Candy Spread
This one was technically on a few boards (here’s a basic rectangle board and circular board if you’re starting to build your collection), but the concept is the same. I used holiday M&Ms, peppermint bark and sugar cookies with festive shapes. I also dipped a few pretzel rods in chocolate and added some sprinkles for fun (pro tip: get the gluten free pretzel rods so all of your guests can partake. They taste the same.) You can build one big tray for a party or smaller boards to place around your home during the season.
No matter the occasion, these boards are a fun way to bring people together—and the best part is they’re completely customizable. Below are some of my go-to tools for making them easy and fun to build: