It was a beautiful sunny day on Wednesday and my daughter and I decided to have an impromptu picnic in the park. First we whizzed around Aldi and picked up a few snacks and treats. Basically we picked up anything that took our fancy, so we ended up with sausage rolls, vegetable crisps, mango, strawberries, pain au chocolate, chocolate chunk cookies and some bottles of peach green tea and strawberry green tea. Then we went on to the park and ate our wares on a park bench by the lake.
Our picnic was unplanned and we just went with the flow but usually I do like to put a bit of planning into our picnics as it’s something we like do as often as we can.
So what do you really need for a picnic?
Something to Carry Your Picnic in
If it’s warm weather then picnic cooler bags are a great idea. They will keep all your food and drinks cool and fresh whatever the weather. They often fold flat when your done too so easier to transport. The traditional picnic basket is the sign of an expert picnic maker. They look great and are a great way of transporting everything you need.
A Place to Picnic
You can picnic anywhere really. We often picnic on a rug in the back garden, or you can go to the park, the beach, any place you can set up and eat. When we were young and playing up our parents used to say ‘we’ll send you on a picnic on the motorway if you don’t behave!’ I wouldn’t advise it, although we did once have a picnic high on the embankment of the M5.
If the weather is rubbish, picnic on the living room floor!
Food
The food is a very important part of the picnic and basically anything goes.
- Sandwiches
- bread
- pasta salad
- salad
- dips
- crackers
- bread sticks
- fruit
- vegetable sticks
- crisps
- sausage rolls
- drinks
- cookies
- cakes
See, it’s easy to throw a picnic together so what are you waiting for?
Weather
Ok, if you are planning an outdoor picnic then it’s probably best to wait for better weather. A picnic in the rain is no fun, a windy picnic can be a bit disastrous too. If it’s too cold your teeth will be chattering too much to eat. So a nice warm sunny day is best. If that’s the case then why do we British like picnics so much?
Somewhere to Sit
You can’t really have a picnic standing up can you? But you can sit anywhere really, throw a big picnic blanket down and you can sit on the beach, the grass, use your imagination. Or you can find a picnic bench which are often located at places of interest or parks. You can even buy portable tables and chairs that you pack up and take with you wherever you want.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post, all words are my own.
Ahh! I do like a picnic….My girls do too. We always have a couple in the summer. Just to the local park but they enjoy it.
We love a good picnic. We don't pack anything too complicated, usually just some sandwiches and few snacks. I love the traditional picnic baskets but they always look such a pain to carry around, we prefer to keep things light so we can wonder off and picnic off the beaten track x
#TheListLinky
Hi Anne, your impromptu picnic sounds good (except for the green tea, I've never been a fan). The location sounds perfect too. Wouldn't a basket like the one in your photo just add to a picnic and make it more like something out of an Enid Blyton book?
The best picnic we had was when we were driving back from Athens one year and we stopped at a supermarket and bought a whole cooked roast chicken, rolls and lettuce and somehow managed to make ourselves rolls. It was messy, but so much fun.
xx
I would love to go out for a picnic today but it won't stop raining!! I will add giant umbrella to your list…!
We've yet to take an outdoor picnic this year, but I hope to sometime soon. #TheListLinky
great idea!