Set the board on the counter, not the table, so you have room to shuffle pieces before guests arrive.

Place two small bowls directly on the board, off center rather than symmetrical, and fill one with marshmallow fluff and one with melted chocolate for dipping.

Arrange the strawberries in a loose fan along one long edge, leaves pointing outward, and tuck the raspberries into a small cluster beside them.

Lay the pretzel rods in a row across the opposite edge, slightly overlapping like fallen dominoes so the sprinkles catch the light.

Fill the remaining space in small clusters rather than long rows: a scoop of candy coated chocolates here, a stack of peanut butter cups there, cupcakes grouped by three.

Tuck the chocolate bark shards and shortbread cookies into any gap that still shows board, working color across the whole surface rather than finishing one corner first.

Carry the board to the table last, after it is fully built, and set it where people stand rather than where they sit, since this is a grazing piece, not a course.