Cheese boards are a crowd-pleasing staple at parties, especially during the holiday season. While a great cheese board is already beautiful to look at and easy to customize, you may be looking to jazz up your presentation even further; if so, Martha Stewart has the perfect tip for the ultimate cheese board upgrade.

Stewart says that for the most visually appealing holiday cheese board, you should leave out the board part entirely. Instead, set cheeses out on the table in separate plates, using risers, lifts, or even tall cake stands to arrange the plates at different heights; this makes your spread feel more like a "buffet of cheese."

Stewart also recommends setting a knife next to each kind of cheese, so you don't have to use the same tool to serve every type, which ends up muddying their flavors. Other elements like crackers, dried fruit, bread, and nuts are a given, and can be served raised high like the cheese plates, or simply put them on the side.