I often just want fruit for dessert, but find that some people feel neglected when you bring a fruit plate to the table after a meal. But there's an easy trick to change the mood ...

I make the effort to pile melon-balled or nicely diced fruit into a pretty cup -- and serve it with a bamboo fruit fork. Have you ever eaten fruit with a bamboo fruit fork? It's fun. And I've found that the simple trick of subbing an unconventional utensil for a fork is a sly way to make fruit salad feel more like a treat for kids and grown-ups alike.

Bamboo fruit forks are reusable and just 95 cents for a pack of 10 online from Pearl River.

- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. She can be reached at kristin @ apartmenttherapy . com