For many years we did whole fruit, fruit baskets. They are not expensive and everyone always appreciated them. Find a nice , inexpensive basket (we used to keep our eyes open all year)(approx $1-$1.50), then pick fruit- The key here is a variety of colors: green, red, yellow, brown, orange- They do not have to be exotic or expensive. Some suggestions: apple (1 or 2 colors), pear, kiwi, grapefruit, orange, banana, try to stay away from grapes, even though they are beautiful, they take much more work and end up costing a lot more than you think they will.(we never spent more than $2-$3 depending on the size of the basket). Wrap in clear cellophane and tie with ribbon. Total cost per basket: usually less than $5. We sometimes added sparkling grape juice or wine if there was someone we wanted to spend more on.
The only problem with this is that the baskets really can not be wrapped before Purim as the gasses cause the fruit to over-ripen very quickly. But if you are the type who wraps their Mishloach Manos Purim night anyway or if you are willing to do that then this can be beautiful!