Ideas for Picnic Planning

When was the last time you and your family had a picnic.

Well there are plenty of places to have a picnic so why not make the most of a lovely day. You can plan a picnic a week ahead or decide on the spur of the moment as the weather looks permitting and the kids are bored out of their minds.

The basics to organising a picnic:
• Venue
• Food and drinks
• Who and how many are going
• Games
• Equipment
• First aid box

Fun venues for a picnic with your family
• Beach
• Amusements park
• Zoo
• The woods
• The country side
• By a river bank
• Grounds of a stately home
• A accessible island

Once you are clear with where you want to go, pack a small snack or a lunch. You can include plenty of food to take on a picnic and if it’s a pre-planned make some of your family’s favorite food. If you don’t have time to waste drop down to local super market or bakery and pick out those ready to eat food.

Picnic food ideas that only take a few minutes to pack:
• Cupcakes, Bread, bagels and Cake from bakery
• Ham, Sausages and smoked chicken
• Sweet and savory pastries or pies
• Fresh fruit and vegetable salads
• Crisps
• Canned meat, fruits and vegetables
• Water and soda

Make sure you have enough food to go around as the outdoors has a funny habit of making you very hungry.

Fun picnic games
The games will depend on the venue and the age group of the kids and adults. But here are a few fun games that the whole family can participate.

• Sack race
• Lime and spoon race
• A game of cards
• Treasure hunt
• Throw a Frisbee or boomerang
• Skipping rope
• Wheel barrow race
• Hop scotch
• A game of baseball

Don’t forget the essentials
Picnic equipment is not as bulky and cumbersome to take around as it used to be. Technology has changed all that by manufacturing easy to carry picnic equipment. You will need the following on your picnic

• Picnic rugs
• Picnic baskets
• Picnic back packs
• Cooler bags
• Picnic tables and chairs
• Cups, plates, knives, forks and glasses
• Don’t forget the bottle opener and the cork screw

Safety is important
Don’t forget to take the first aid box for those little accidents the children might have.
Include the following:

• Scissors
• Plaster and lint
• Disinfectant

It is also important to keep the food safe from getting spoilt. Therefore:
• Pack the food with clean hands
• Make sure the food is thoroughly cooled down before packing
• Keep the cold food cool and the hot food heated
• Don’t prepare food day before
• Don’t pack drinks with food
• Take whole fruit and cut them at the time you eat
• Dispose the leftovers