How to Use Fruit for Place Card Holders

Place card holders are a thoughtful and practical touch for a holiday dinner or other formal celebration. Guests don't have to worry about usurping Uncle Mike's place at the table, and you can separate the cousins who are inclined to bicker or make sure your nephew gets a chance to chat up the attractive neighbor. You can purchase or make decorative holders, but then you must find a place to store them every year and you're stuck using them over and over. Instead of a permanent holder, consider making place card holders out of fresh fruit. The fruit is a colorful, attractive holder and, once dinner is over, you can cut it up for fruit salad.

Instructions

1

Select firm fruit with at least one slightly flat side. You need place card holders to stay put and not roll around the table. Shiny apples and pears work best. Avoid soft fruit like kiwis or peaches. Purchase one piece of fruit for each person at the table.

2

Make or buy 3- by 5-inch cards without lines. You can cut these from plain white cardboard, decorate them with stickers, or use your children's drawings. Label each card with the name of a guest.

3

Cut a slit horizontally across the top of each piece of fruit. Make the slit about 1 inch deep, and insert the card in this slot.

4

Set a fruit card holder in front of each plate or on the plate at each place.