Special birthday picnic

[ThePartyArtist]

Planning a birthday picnic (for grandparents, parents and grandchild aged 8):
Ideas please for homemade picnic food that's special for a birthday! Must be vegetarian / pescetarian, and travel ok in a backpack. Climate will be UK springtime so no worries about things getting too warm.

What matters: making it feel special for my mum in lieu of regular birthday presents.
Vegetarian or pescetarian.
Portable- we're having a walk too.

French stick with butter and a cheese board, home made cheese straws, a crustless quiche (broccoli and Stilton is my favourite). Crudités with hummus, crisps.

I love a strata - a savoury bread pudding with lots of nice cheese and veg. It's different enough that feels special, but you can slice it in squares, and eat it one handed at room temperature. And there's no pastry to get soggy.

Smitten Kitchen has two good recipes - sweetcorn, spring onion & cheddar; and spinach, gruyere and nutmeg.

In fact I've just seen she's got a whole "picnic" section - some lovely ideas here:

https://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/course/picnics/?format=photo

Crab rolls https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/crab-rolls.html
Mini salmon quiches
King prawn skewers https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/garlic-chilli-prawn-skewers/763d07ea-313c-483f-ab0e-f4c7bb207a94
Melon and mozzarella skewers https://www.coop.co.uk/recipes/melon-and-mozzarella-skewers-with-balsamic

You could make it like an afternoon tea with dainty finger sandwiches; smoked salmon and cream cheese, prawns in Marie Rose sauce with creamed lettuce, hummus and roasted pepper, egg and watercress. Mini scones with clotted cream and jam, some bite size cakes lemon drizzle, chocolate brownie, carrot cake, mini quiches or puff pastry tarts, mini meringues, chocolate dipped strawberries. Fizz.

This is lush: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/picnic-loaf/
(Or Google Pan bagnat for further inspiration on the theme). Taming Twins has something similar too but it has cooked meats in iirc.

If you can't manage to make a full birthday cake travel some scones/clotted cream/posh jam and a little candle for the birthday girl/boy maybe?!

Homemade scones, clotted cream and jam for a pudding. Ideally with fizz.

Ottolenghi is my go to for a posh picnic- he has lots of lovely things!