During the making of Beef Barley Soup today...

[Retrograde]

5. Or you can do what the Victorians did

and stick the individual stems in a glass of what. Way back when they had elaborate special celery glass which they used to display the (then exotic) vegetable at the table, but I use a plastic one. It's also a good way to perk up floppy stalks - trim the end, then stick in a glass of water. Depending on how floppy it is it will take from a couple of hours to a day or two to get a like-fresh stalk.