How to say 'Thank You' to a group.... with $30!

You want to thank several people at work, but you don't want to leave anyone out. Individually writing 'Thank You' cards to everyone in the department would be a hassle and quite frankly you just don't have that kind of time or the money. A 'Thank You' display table is your answer! Food is the best and cheapest way to say thank you to a group, but why not do it in a creative way to really show them that you care.

Here's how you can say 'Thank You' to a group with $30. To make the above 'Thank You' display table, you first need to choose a COLOR THEME. I chose to stick with the colors purple and yellow since Spring is approaching. You can choose whatever color you desire, just make sure you are consistent. To make my 'Thank You' display table you will need the following items of which you can get these items at your closest grocery store (I chose Albertsons):

(Pictured: fruit snacks (they are the color purple), purple PEEPS, rice krispies, bananas, RITZ crackers, white table cloth, iridescent lavender grass, a big 'Thank You' balloon)

When choosing what food items to have on your 'Thank You' display table think salty & sweet meets healthy; there must be a balance between sweet foods, salty foods, and healthy foods. When you stick to this mind frame you are one, catering to everyone's interests, and two, giving people options if they are eating too much of one taste.

HOW TO SET UP YOUR DISPLAY TABLE

Just plop down the food right? WRONG. There is still a finesse to displaying food that must be kept. First and foremost you must create TWO FOCAL POINTS. One focal point should be high the other low. Why? You want to get everyone's attention that you want to thank them so a balloon serves as your high focal point.

Your low focal point should sit at the center of the table. This is the "main dish" so-to-speak. For me, I used a 3-layer cupcake tray (you can find these at Wal-Mart)to display my "main dish"; Rice Krispie treats.

Okay, so now you have your TWO FOCAL POINTS, now you need to evenly disperse everything around the table. If your table is round like how mine was think A-SYMMETRICAL. In an asymmetrical pattern layout your foods with this pattern in mind: HEALTHY, SWEET, SALTY....HEALTHY, SWEET, SALTY). Reason being, those that are walking around the table will realize there are many things to offer on the table. If you clump all the sweets in one area or all the healthy foods in one area, the other food you have to offer might get overlooked.

To display the food nicely, surround iridescent lavender grass to the food. It makes the food look more enticing while making the table look less plain ;-)

You're done! You have now said thank you in the most creative way and you did not leave ANYONE out. All this, with but $30...such a steal!

You can Thank Me Later ;-)