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.

@HundredMilesAnHour that sounds so good (and I don't even eat beef!).

I love a picnic but we usually do the M&S thing. Main tip is to always take napkins and wet wipes!

My tip is more about being ready for a spur of the moment picnic at any time. Wrap a tea towel round a sharp knife. Keep it in your cool box. Then if you want a picnic throw in an ice pack and possibly a tub of butter. Head straight to the shops and you can buy whatever you want en route. Your sharp knife can be used for cutting bread rolls and cake and you can make your picnic whilst you're there. All your sandwich fillings you can buy at the shop and no need for pots because they are bought ready wrapped.

Izzidigne love that idea.

Amazon deliveries of picnic related items coming today and tomorrow just in time for the weekend... Who wants to put money on it raining Saturday morning

In loads of ways our best picnics have been on holiday: buying a couple of baguettes, some cheese, tomatoes and maybe peaches sun warm from the market. Finding a patch of grass, chopping everything up with my penknife, getting the kids an icecream afterwards. Lovely.