Claire's Holiday Fruit Salad with Cherries

I got this recipe from another military wife I knew when we lived at Fort Polk, LA. Claire is an excellent cook and loves to entertain in her home. She served this salad at a holiday party we attended at her home and graciously shared the recipe with me. There is no actual cooking time - but you should chill it before serving. Don't make this too far ahead though as it doesn't keep very long.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 25

Ingredients

• 1  sweet red apple, peeled,cored,in small cubes
• 1  bag green seedless grape, rinse &,dried (use as many or as little as you prefer)
• 1  jar maraschino cherry, pitted,stemmed (use the juice too)
• 1 1⁄2 cups  chopped pecans
• 3  bananas, peeled,thinly sliced
• 1  oranges, peeled,seeded,cut into bite sized pieces or 1⁄2 cup  drained mandarin orange segments, approximately,cut into small pieces
• 1 (16 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 (16 ounce) can  fruit cocktail, drained
• 1  bag dried shredded coconut

Directions

1. Mix everything together gently in a large bowl.
2. Chill until ready to serve but not too far in advance or the fruit will start to weep and get soggy.