It's time for a family picnic

Picnics in childhood
linger in the memory for ever

No school for a few weeks? Then you can take some time off to enjoy quality time with your partner and children. Bring out your cookware and head out for a picnic outside.

This is the perfect bonding time for your family. You get to experience the warm weather, the sights and at the same time spend some quality time with your loved ones.

Most families opt to bring sandwiches on their picnics, as this type of food is easy to prepare. The most important thing though, is for the whole family to have fun - this is the main purpose of your picnic.

The destination is not as important as spending time together.

It's time to enjoy an informal meal outdoors, as a family, with space for little ones to scamper about without annoying anyone.

An ideal place for a family picnic is in a large public garden or local park where there’s room to run around.

A stretch of open heath is good for activities like flying kites or playing football, or wooded countryside for games like hide and seek.

There’s no need to plan a long-distance trip – the children will not thank you for being cooped up in the car for more than ten minutes!

You want to convey a sense of freedom in being outdoors together and the simple pleasure of eating a family meal under the open sky.

The picnic activity could be a simple game of catch or rounders or throwing a ball for the pet dog. Of course you can choose from other picnic games especially if you want a more structured style to the event or other families are joining your family picnic.

It’s a good idea to involve the children from the onset and let them help with the planning. This does not have to be complicated but, by giving each one their own task, they will take on some responsibility and will therefore enjoy the day more than simply being “taken” on a picnic.

Naturally the tasks allotted will depend on the ages of the children but here are some suggestions:

• Help with the picnic menu. Having food that they have chosen means they won’t complain about it or not eat it, which means no arguments with fussy eaters!

  This task may need to be done a day ahead to give time for shopping and preparation.

• Assemble the ingredients for the picnic food
• Help with the food preparation
• Find picnic hamper, blankets, cool-box, picnic equipment etc.
• Pack drinks in a cool-box
• Pack equipment in the chosen containers safely and securely (fill any spaces with plastic bags, paper towels and tea towels)
• Assemble the sports equipment, dog toys etc.
• Be in charge of the picnic list to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Don't give each child too much to do and decide on a time when the tasks should be completed.

Remember the idea of a family picnic is to have fun and spend quality time together.

Menu suggestion:

• Real lemonade
• Scotch eggs or vegetable tortilla
• baked chicken wings
• Little cold cooked sausages with mustard and tomato sauce
• Floury rolls with cheese and ham or cheese and chutney - or another easy picnic food idea
• Corn salad or couscous salad
• Prosciutto ham wrapped around breadsticks
• coffee cake or muffins
• Fresh fruit

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