It's Time for a Family Picnic

Now is the ideal time for a family picnic!

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

This is the perfect bonding time for your family. You get to experience the warm weather, maybe some nature or at least a different scene - and at the same time spend some quality time with your loved ones.

Picnics in childhood linger in the memory for ever (at least mine did!) so they are an excellent way to share meals with your kids and give them happy memories.

Destination and activity

A family picnic is informal. You should pick somewhere with plenty of space for the youngsters to romp about without ruffling anybody's feathers!

An ideal place would be in a large public garden or local park where there’s room to frolic.

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

The destination is not as important as spending time together though. 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 picnic.

Part of the fun is the preparation

The children will enjoy the picnic more if they can be involved in the planning and preparation from the beginning. Just one small task each is all that's needed so make them feel they have contributed to the event and that they are an important part of it.

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

Help with the 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 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.

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