The BEST 5 Picnic Tips

Do you love a good picnic? I love having a great picnic at home…but, taking them to a beautiful location? My favorite. Remember when I took you along for a winter picnic? Well, today, I need to share some tips with you that I have found that create the BEST spring and summer picnics. So, here we go!

1-First of all, create the plan for your picnic:

• Determine your location.
• Select the date and time.
• Decide on your menu.

2- Make life easy with your menu items:

• I love to make items that can be made ahead of time. We will often grill a huge amount of burgers, wrap them in parchment paper and place in the freezer in plastic bags for future picnics. A grill out at a picnic is always wonderful; but, when a grill is not available at the picnic location or you simply don’t want the hassle of dragging charcoal and grilling supplies to the picnic, this is a SIMPLE solution. We simply thaw out those burgers; place them in an aluminum pan with a tiny amount of water to steam them, cover with foil and warm on the lowest setting in the oven until we are ready to leave for the picnic. A crockpot would work, too, if you are carrying a lot to the picnic. We place those warmed burgers in a thermal pack and they are ready to serve when we arrive! BEST tip ever!
• Don’t forget to include those favorite condiments, like lettuce, sliced tomato, cheese, onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup. Keep in mind the easiest way to have those served for your guests.
• I love to make potato salad or other salads that I can make ahead of time that aid in the flavor, like Aunt Helen’s marinated vegetable salad that I have shared before, that add great flavor and less stress the day of the picnic.
• Sandwiches, premade and wrapped, even if they are those that are your favorites can be amazing to add to your menu.
• Chips are a great picnic addition…but, may I suggest individual chip bags in a variety? It keeps it more manageable for individual servings…and in the world we live in, manages the number of hands that go in and out of those bags. Helps add safety along the way! Win!
• Making desserts ahead of time that are picnic favorites is also a win. Again, individual servings are wonderful! Think creatively here. Individual brownie bites? cupcakes? and read on for another great tip!

3-Make decisions on how to pack and transport that menu:

• Determine how each food item on your menu will be stored and/or served.
• Don’t forget to have serving pieces for each menu item.
• For food storage, I have a variety of favorites that I’ll add links to at the end of this post. Fancy Panz that have foil disposable liners, but are great for serving and storing are one of my favorites. I also love a great bowl with a lid for potato salad or other salads to be served. Most of my picnic foods are cold items so cold storage bags are great additions.
• I love being creative on packing individual servings of foods. Can I tell you a secret? Packing individual portions of salads or sides or desserts into pint, half pint or quarter pint jars is genius! You can find these at the grocery, Walmart, and so many locations or even order them online. I LOVE using them! You can be creative and make labels for the tops that give description of the contents inside. It also portions foods out perfectly for the number of guests at your picnic. Amazing, right?! I am so happy I realized this when trying to transport a peach cobbler for a picnic. Now, I am using this serving idea for soooo many other picnic menu items and venues. Perfect for individual servings of that marinated salad that prevents spilling…or that potato salad…you choose!
• Transporting food items can be a bit tricky. Think through how you will easily pack and transport items to the picnic area during the planning process. Boxes, plastic bins, picnic baskets, insulated bags, padding, coolers, and weight considerations in lifting are all a part of that menu planning. Just a note! Plastic bins are great since they can be washed out after your return with those messy items.

4-Choose your place settings and equipment:

• One of the things that I consider when selecting table cloths and dinner ware is the wind factor! The wind always adds an unwanted addition that if you aren’t prepared for, will spiral that picnic right out of control. My solution? I choose melamine dishes that carry more weight and don’t blow around when setting that table. I also tuck in tablecloth weights for the corners of my tablecloth, whether cloth or flannel back vinyl. Disposable table cloths don’t work well with weights, so those are not used for my picnics. I DID find the neatest picnic table and seat covers that I am sharing below that have elastic to hold them under the table and benches. How fun! Those are on my list to try…
• If the picnic will be on the ground, I will add a tarp to go under a quilt to protect it from moisture and grass stains.
• Along with those melamine dishes, I always add real silverware…not my good ones…but, a Sam’s Club version that work and don’t break like plastic ones. To me, this is more environmentally friendly. It’s a huge turn off to me to see paper plates and plastic silverware littering camping or picnic sites. I just eliminate that issue with this practice.
• For drinkware, I do include plastic clear disposable glasses with a permanent marker if a large crowd and children require names added.
• Consider keeping food items covered away from bugs and flies! Lids are often mandatory. Plan to solve that!
• Think about those menu items and keeping them hot or cold before, during and after serving! So important to keep all food safe and in the healthy zone for temperature! Can I give you a tip here? One of my pet peeves is to see mayonnaise based food items placed into aluminum pans and/or covered in foil. Although today’s commercial mayonnaise doesn’t include raw eggs and that’s usually the problem, I err on the side of safety. I simply don’t trust that combination with the heat of a summer day. My personal preference is to place into glass or plastic containers with plastic lids. Stay safe and read up on safe serving of all of the food items that you are serving so that all who enjoy and partake have a great experience.
• I love to take a plastic hand held beverage server to picnics. The BEST idea is to fill it with a great flavored water. Add fresh mint, citrus, berries and you have an amazing beverage that is healthy and most will enjoy. It’s also perfect without ice which saves me from having to drag alot of ice. I just add ice to that container and it keeps it cool and provides a great option, too, for those “non-ice” folks. I often do this rather than having to ice down and wrestle a cooler full of ice and drinks. SOOOO much easier!
• A cooler is usually a necessity. To store items that need to stay cool or for iced beverages. It’s important to have for storage of items that need to stay cool after serving!
• A separate grilling bin for items to have if you are grilling is always on my plan. Grilling tools, charcoal, starters, lighters, tools, and even a water container to put out fires later, are perfect to tuck in.

5-Plan for the clean up:

I am all about planning this portion of the picnic plan in the beginning to make sure that all ends well:

• Silverware and serving spoons, etc. are placed into a large ziploc bag to transport and then all of those dirty get put back into that same bag to get back home for the dishwasher.
• Napkins, paper or cloth, are also placed into large ziplocs. I add an additional ziploc bag if I am using cloth napkins; but, discard those paper napkins or plastic cups into a garbage can if one is available; if not, I am prepared with large garbage bags to take waste away to proper disposal. If we are in a fun location on a lawn overlooking the lake or areas where we don’t have garbage cans readily available, those large plastic garbage bags are essential.
• I divide what I am transporting into manageable weight easy containers on the front in, but consider how to transport all of it back is in my plan. I consider how all of it fits back together.
• Include grocery bags to place melamine dishes into until you get home to place them in the dishwasher.
• ALWAYS bring paper towels and cleaner to clean less than desirable tables, if needed, before tablecloths are added. Those paper towels are important for spills and clean up, too. Again, if it’s windy, take a weighted holder so that they don’t blow away! Again, dispose of any paper waste completely! In those garbage cans available or trash can liners, if none is available.
• Wipe up spills from those tablecloths and dry vinyl cloths with a paper towel before folding and placing back into bins.
• Another tip that works for me is adding wet wash clothes into ziploc bags. Valuable for wiping little or big hands when messes or playground equipment or playing in sand or dirt require it. You can always add baby wipes or disinfectant wipes that are safe to your stash, too. Be prepared in this area!
• Plastic bins to separate dirty items from clean items is a huge win! Sorting done! When you return you have your clean from dirty sorted to make clean up when you arrive home easier!
• Can I tell you the BEST tip of all? Organize those bins and gather picnic items NOW for a quick and easy picnic that might just occur on a moment’s notice. If you have items that I have shared are gathered and in one spot? It’s much easier for the prep for the next time you go! Even if you grab food from a favorite local spot–fried chicken, or sandwiches, bottled water and chips on a quilt with that tarp ready in a basket, takes dinner to a sunset on a hill overlooking our favorite lake location. A perfect date night made easy and memorable!

PLAN THAT PICNIC, FRIENDS!

I’m planning plenty of them. Like that winter picnic...I’m planning spring ones…and summer ones…and fall ones.

But, most importantly? I’m creating memories to etch with those I’m sharing those with. How about you? Social distancing never was better in wide open spaces!

I’m sharing some of my favorite items that I love for my picnics.

(Affiliate links included for your shopping convenience at no extra cost to you! See my discloser policy.)