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Whether you are taking a picnic out on a day trip, in the park for a picnic or at home and fancy a picnic in the garden or living room, picnics can be hard to decide what to pack. In this post I give my ideas of what to pack other than standard sandwiches, items which I think would be great to take with you and a reminder checklist so that you do not forget any important items. Clicking the images will take you to the online shop where you can get more information.
Picnic food
- Pasta salads are always nice for picnics. You can get these premade or make your own like my easy tuna pasta salad.
- Chop up some carrots, peppers, cucumber and add breadsticks and then take a dip or some hummus for a fairly healthy addition.
- Pastry items such as sausage rolls, cheese whirls and pasties always go down well and again they can be store bought or you can bake your own.
- Mini sausages and scotch eggs are quite traditional for a picnic.
- Quiche can be a nice item to take with you. Make a salad to go on the side too.
- Different breads, meats and cheeses can be good for a pick and mix picnic lunch. Children often like things like this as they feel like they are making their own lunch.
- Fruit salad made with your favourite fruits makes a nice desert or if you have the time and energy you could make fruit kebabs!
- It is best to avoid chocolate when it is hot as it melts so easily, but cereal bars can be a good sweet alternative treat to take instead.
Useful items
This cool basket is great for filling with food and drink that needs to keep cool. I love that it folds up for easy storage when empty.
These ice packs are such bright summery colours and perfect for putting in your cool bags to keep everything fresh.
Reusable food covers are not only great for keeping food fresh but also brilliant for covering drinks while out to stop bugs getting in and prevent spills. They come in different colour packs which includes transparent and pink along with these blue ones pictured above. They are also great for the environment too!
Perfect for keeping everyone cool and safe from the sun or shielding from the wind. It is pop up with bags that you can fill with sand or rocks to help keep in place on windy days.
Garden games are always great for picnics as they are designed to be used outside and can be a lot of fun.
These plastic free wet wipes are great for sticky fingers on the go. They can be used all over the body to freshen up or clean dirty faces!
Picnic checklist!
- Food!
- Ice blocks in cool bags
- Wipes for dirty fingers
- Covers for food and drinks.
- Blankets
- Tent (if applicable)
- Tissues
- Plasters
- Games for the kids
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses/sun hats
- Plates
- Knifes and forks
- Drinks bottles/cups
- Napkins
- Books/magazines (perhaps this is wishful thinking!)
Do you have any must take foods when you have a picnic? Let me know in the comments if you do and also if you think that I have forgotten anything important from the checklist. As always, I love to hear from you.
