How to have the Best Picnic Ever with minimal effort.

[BeatrixPottersAlterEgo]

After years of chucking tinfoil wrapped sandwiches and a packet of jaffa cakes into an old rucksack, I've decided I want to be one of the really well organised mums you see at National Trust properties, who practically have a pop up deli stashed away in their cooler bag.

We live in the countryside, and it looks like going for longer than usual walks with a picnic at the end is about as exciting as this summer is going to get. So I want to do it properly.

So far I've got two IKEA zippy cooler bags, one big and one small, which have languished unused under the stairs for ages. They seem fairly decent and sturdy.

The DC have good water bottles already

We need a flask- I'm looking at a Thermos Mondial which I'm pretty sure is similar to the nuclear warhead resistant thing we had when I was a child. Anybody have this and can testify to its excellence?

I've ordered a picnic blanket with a waterproof back off ebay.

I can't think of anything else - is there any particular piece of kit which I've never heard of but which I absolutely need? What about food? Best things to bring, best ways to store it? I hate food getting smushed into other food, which is partly why I've stuck to prepackaged basics after all this time.

We do cheeseboard, grapes, carrot,celery and cucumber sticks, homemade hummus , sausage rolls and veggie sausage rolls. Boiled eggs. Crisps. Cheese crackers. Jar of red peppers and tin of black olive s. Maybe homemade coleslaw. We've got a lovely picnic bag with all the stuff (had it almost 20 years!) and a smashing tiffin thing that works really well (like this https://www.wish.com/c/5c704f85c296ba267ce79f4f?hideloginnmodal=true&fromad=googgshopping&displayycountrycode=GB&&forcecurrencyycode=GBP&pid=googleadwordsint&c=%7BcampaignId%7D&addcid=5c704f85c296ba267ce79f4f&adcc=GB&addcurr=GBP&adprice=19.00&campaignnid=8701462921&retargeting=true&gclid=CjwKCAjw8df2BRA3EiwAvfZWaO4NyVfvUDdovUzMgQj7XduTIWwEafeISac31YwKitcTyZAzfFOQtRoCRCMQAvD_BwE but in white so it looks beautiful ).

Always a white tablecloth too, and cushions.

I love picnics.

I about love picnics!
We have an insulated picnic bag with real plates , cups , cutlery , wine glasses and wine opener ! Also those blankets with the waterproof side .
Lots of containers .
I usually fly up to Lidl the morning of a picnic and we bring ham and cheese panini/ bread rolls .
Crossiants with cheese, donuts.
Grapes, strawberries, cucumbers, melon chopped up in containers.
I’ve a little lunchbox with separate parts that I put breadsticks and hummus, Philadelphia and peanut butter.
Sometimes I bring a lunchbox of pesto pasta for the kids too.
If it’s a whole day thing I throw on a big pizza , then slice it and put individual slices in tinfoil.
A bag of crisps is usually in there too!
For drinks - beakers of juice, flask of coffee and generally a can of coke!
We have little fold up kids deck chairs we got in halfords a few years ago and we get great use out of them at picnics!

Mixed pack of continental meats
Jar of feta in oil
Pot of olives
Tiny stuffed peppers
2 whole cheeses of choice (i like Boursin, and a chunk of something blue)
Chicken legs, spicy
French stick
Sharing bag of posh crisps
Big pork pie
And a pudding or cake of some sort, and a tub of berries.

Picnic rug
Glasses (wide flat based, plastic)
A tea towel to spread the food on
Rubbish bag
Sharp knife (wrap in the tea towel)
Chilled drinks of choice, including gin in a tin, sparkling water and juice.
Plates cutlery, either disposable or a picnic set.
Hand sanitiser

Love a posh picnic before a concert or other outdoor event. Absolutely would not picnic just for sake of it!

Quiche and Salad (dress it when you get there). Hummus with Cucumber and Carrots, maybe some flatbread. All home made.
Vintage campervan plates.
Oh, and gin. Thats the most important thing. Transport the tonic in the Chilli bottle.
We actually had this for dinner last night in the park minus the gin :(

We've got a fab picnic rucksack which is really well insulated and comfy to carry long distance.

I also hard boil eggs, leave them in their shell and pop them back in the egg box which are great for a picnic.

Baguette
Butter
Soft cheese like Brie or Camembert
Charcuterie
Olives
Frittata
Fruit - strawberries and watermelon in season

I have a wicker basket but it's really heavy .if walking is involved I take the plastic cool bag with a wooden board to put the food on.

I don't really like 'picnic' food it's all too pastry based.

I got these clever individual boxes (Aldi!) they have built in space for the knife & fork which was included with it a large section on one side & a circle bit for sauces/yogurt & 2 smaller sections the other - we went last year(Oh so long ago!) to see an open air Shakespeare with dd they were very handy/clever - complete picnic with pack of crisps cake & drink

I'd avoid sausage rolls they're just a bit chewy cold. Picnics are like BBQs the prep can overwhelm the enjoyment. Keep it simple and buy it off the shelf where possible don't forget a bottle of tomato ketchup and mayo. For better or worse for some people it really helps to make it substantial not just some snacks.

Oh and bring your own binbag and never ever ever put your blanket down by a bin or anywhere near. Seems sensible but it's always Wasp HQ. Also keep a fiver tucked away for ice cream van.

My boyfriend and I had a picnic in the local park last Sat evening. I packed us smoked, pulled beef (delivered from a local food truck that has switched to deliveries during lockdown) that I use had to warm sous-vide then I put it in a metal bottomed Tupperware style dish, wrapped in foil and a tea towel.

I also took some handmade tortillas (from a food market stall doing lockdown deliveries instead) which I warmed in the oven then wrapped in foil and a tea towel. Side dished of coleslaw, truffle mayonnaise and pickles. So minimum effort for me and the food was AMAZING.

I also took a cheeseboard (including an actual wooden board and cheese knives) of 4 British cheeses. And some Eccles cakes (to eat with the Lancashire cheese). We had strawberries too but were too full to est them. We just drank sparkling water but kept it in a wine cooler. And we took linen napkins. It was terribly civilised.

I took sliced salmon coleslaw & salads

My plastic boxes are all old icecream tubs or fresh soup pots. I just stack them up in the cupboard and put the lids to the side. I have a huge, fab picnic basket with plates/cutlery etc that we bought in a 2nd hand shop for £18!, and a cool bag we've had 20+ years. If we've got hot food, like sausages, I have a small insulated lunch bag that was DD's years ago. You need an insulated bag/backpack for food and a basket/big backpack for rug, glasses, plates etc etc.

I've always wanted one of those fancy wicker picnic basket sets, but to me it seems like they weigh a bloody tonne before you've even put any food in.

We practise a lot with picnics in the garden, so if you have a great idea, it’s easy to test out on home ground first.

Mawbags can I please come on your picnic! I'll even bring my own buckfast

Best picnic we ever had was at a party in the park event. We called at the curry house on the way for a takeout.
Perfect.

I used to be one of those Mum's. Half the food always got wasted and I’d weep with disappointment.

Now, I chuck a sandwich scrunched in tin foil in their lunch boxes and my DC think I’m soooooo cool.

I love a picnic, and have a nice coolbag rucksac with all the plates, glasses, cutlery etc in the bag with a bottle cooler on one side and straps for a blanket on the other.
On Friday I had to be out of the house from 6am till 7pm, and sit in a garden (not for any nice reason) so decided to have a lovely picnic to cheer myself up. So I had a flask with coffee in it, my chilly water bottle with milk in it (went in the bottle chiller bit), a compact squeezy of sugar free vanilla syrup. The bag had gf flatbreads, hummus, boiled eggs, a pack of kalamata olives, pack of posh peanuts, cheese oatcakes, sunblush tomatoes, naice crisps and some strawberries. Oh, and a can of San Pellegrino blood orange and some water. Stayed cold all day as we have large flat freezer blocks and it had two large ones in it.
I sat in the shade and picked my way through it and it was absolutely lovely - enough variety to keep having different bits and make combinations. If I'd been sharing I would have had some cheese as well, and ds always demands salami/ham and really naice bread

Fandoozle1, yes tbh the basket is heavy - that's usually DH's job, unless the picnic is very close to home or car 😄

I really want a picnic now (even though it’s 9 o clock at night!)

I second a cool bag rucksack. Got mine from Decathlon. Easier to carry than the traditional square boxes if you’re going on a long walk.

Buy the thin ice packs - easier to layer them between items.

I pack everyone’s food in individual boxes so there’s no faffing or squabbling. Wilko and Robert Dyas etc. do plastic lunch boxes with sections to stop food mushing together.

See - i've gone the other way.

15 years ago when my 3 big ones were little i would knock myself out filling pots and flasks and trying to keep stuff hot and cold and wet and dry ect. Meat and bread and spreads and messy sauce. Heavy to carry, kids weren't interested in any of it except the crisps and the cake and then loads of smelly pots to wash up once you got home, horrible tepid leftovers and the wondering why you bothered.

Nowadays picnics are mostly just me, DH, and DD4 (6). Sometimes it's more.
I have one big cool bag.

• Everyone has a sandwich (home made or bought on the way).
• Every one has a bag of crisps.
• Packet of something else savory (scotch eggs or pork pie) - one of those for everyone.
• Then a box of individual cakes. fruit pies, one or two each.
• Bottle of chilled water each.
• A rubbish bag.

Everyone eats.
Boom.

No begging to 'finish some of this not meant to be warm salad'. 'Have some of this meat before the flies get on it' ect.
No wasted left overs.
All the rubbish goes in the rubbish bag.
Rubbish bag goes in the nearest bin.
Cool bag goes back under the stairs.
No washing up.
Feet up.

:)

(i realise this isn't in the spirit of the thread )

Couple of French baguettes
Brie
Grapes in tupperware
Pack of ham
Pack of posh crisps
Homemade sausage roll (still warm in foil)
Boiled eggs (remind me of my mum)
A few cans of G+T or whatever
Bottles of water

Good quality paper plates and cutlery
Baby wipes for the inevitable mess

I have very fond memories of childhood picnics which always consisted of:

• chicken drumsticks. Mum would roast loads of them all in a big tray with a little oil and salt the night before then let them go cold.
• boiled eggs, still in shell. Part of the fun was cracking and peeling them while out
• buttered bread slices, she would butter a whole loaf then put it back in the bread bag and use that as packaging
• satsumas
• apples
• cherry tomatoes
• sliced cucumber
• crisps
• penguin or kit Kat bars
• a Robinson's squash bottle that had been used, washed out and lived in the bottom of the pantry, filled with orange or blackcurrant squash.

Just took a few plastic tumblers, paper plates and a couple of tea towels for wiping hands.

Bear in mind there were 3 of us kids and usually 3 of our friends along for the trip so had to feed and water at least 1 adult and 6 kids.

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50

Are you one of my older DDs?! That's almost to the letter what i used to do (and just said i can't be arsed to do anymore)

I'm remembering my old picnics more fondly now even if they were a right faff :)

My mum is the ultimate picnic organiser, all homemade (including the fruitcake and the soup in a thermos). TBH it's a shit ton of work and makes what should be a fun event a pain.

I am good at stress free picnics. M&S is good but a trip to a small local deli is fancier, a quiche and a few naice salads then a piece of cake for everyone and you are sorted.

Get a picnic rucksack, it'll make you organised. Keep wetwipes and 2 folded plastic bags in there (1 for the dirty plates, one for the rubbish) along with a bread knife, cheese knife and sufficient plates, cutlery and cups for everyone in the family so you are ready to go. Have a waterproof picnic rug in the car always. Keep a list of picnic food on your phone so you never forget everyone's favourites. Keep your favourite picnic food in stock from April to Nov, freeze things that don't have a long shelf life (left over home bakes are a good one) then you are always ready for an impromptu picnic, the frozen food will keep everything else cool. My greatest picnicking moment ever was when I forgot that DD1 had a Brownie trip but still had everything in the house to give her a healthy picnic (maybe not so great on the parenting!). Don't premake sandwiches, just take bread or rolls and fillings, more fun and less work for you. Tupperware is essential even if you just decant from the supermarket containers. Half fill water bottles and freeze the night before (top up in the morning) to use instead of icepacks.

Our picnic food list for easy unplanned picnics (just for ideas):
Rolls or loaf of bread (preferably artisan )
Oatcakes
Water
Cartons fruit juice for the DC/wine for the adults if not driving
Frozen mini sausages
Pate
Italian Deli Selection from the supermarket (Parma ham etc, it has a reasonable shelf life. Smoked salmon is also good but has a 1 week shelf life so freeze it ready for the next picnic)
Cheese - I pre-slice cheddar before we go but if you don't have kids it's probably nicer to take unsliced but make sure you have a cheese knife in your picnic rucksack.
Hummus
Cherry tomatoes
Carrot sticks
Cucumber sticks
Salad leaves
Big packet Kettle Crisps
Cashew nuts or pistachio nuts
Apples
Grapes (less likely to get damaged in transit than strawberries or other soft fruit)
Dried fruit (DC are addicted to mango)
Cake or chocolate (or both)

We would always have all of that in stock, if doing a special trip to the shops I'd also get a Melton Mowbury pie or falafel.

@Laiste

My mums gone now but based on friends mums I think it was a fairly typical picnic fare in the late 80s, early 90s 😁

Used to all go in the big picnic fold up cooler, one of those stripy rectangular ones with the silver lined interior and thick nylon strap. If she remembered there would be an ice pack in there to keep things cool.

If there was room in the freezer and we were going on a long drive to the picnic she would freeze the bottle of squash the night before so it pulled double duty as a cool block and we had cold squash to drink.

That was also a treat on hot school days, she'd freeze our drink so by lunch it had ice cubes sized chunks and was deliciously cold.