Color

• Kids have various reasons for being picky eaters. Some are put off by the taste or color of certain foods. If your child tends to enjoy only certain color foods, create a fruit tray with a color theme. This is also a good way to slip in a few fruits your child may normally avoid. Fruits are different colors at different stages of ripeness, so choose carefully and consider how quickly you are serving your choices. You can also use color to create a theme with a fruit tray. Kids will love celebrating Independence Day with a red, white and blue fruit tray that includes blueberries, strawberries and bananas.
  
  

Flavor

• Creating a fruit tray with a variety of flavors is a fun way to get kids to try new foods. Some flavors might be too intense for younger children who have limited tastes, so do not go overboard. Exotic fruits such as kiwi, papaya and mango might be overwhelming on their own, so include plenty of favorites like strawberries and bananas alongside one or two exotic fruits so little taste buds can try new flavors.
  
  

Shapes

• Make the tray look fun by cutting the fruit into interesting shapes. Cut up strawberries to look like hearts or slice bananas into spears. Use miniature cookie cutters to cut fruit into geometric shapes like triangles, squares and circles. Let children help create the fruit tray with cookie cutters, but supervise them while they work. This is a project that is a lot of fun for kids who are reluctant to try new fruit. If a child prepares a dish on his own, he is more likely to eat it.
  
  

Overall Design

• Create a tray that forms a unique design or that is suitable for the theme of your event. Lay the fruit out in a pattern that looks like an animal, a cartoon character or a vehicle. You can connect fruit pieces with toothpicks and create a three-dimensional design. Popular fruit sculptures include pirate ships, castles, trees and animals.