Posts Tagged ‘picnic accessories’

Picnic at the Beach

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Who doesn’t love a trip to the beach? My family loves to pack up the beach toys, boogie boards, bathing suits, and sunscreen and go spend a day by the ocean. We also love to pack up good stuff to eat in picnic baskets, and cool things to drink in picnic coolers, so we don’t have to pay extra for food from a vendor. We just roll out the picnic blankets on the sand and dive right in.

We tried eating on our beach towels once, but it became clear that picnic blankets are an absolute necessity. For one thing, it’s nice to have the picnic basket and picnic cooler in a central location. And if you have kids, you know how messy they can be when they eat – we wanted to keep our beach towels clean! We have an extra large picnic blanket, so there’s room for the whole family to spread out under the Picnic Time Umbrella and relax. After lunch, I love to lay on my Beachcomber beach mat and read a good page-turner while the girls build sandcastles or swim.

I like to bring a wide variety of food in our picnic basket. We have a few picnic baskets for 2 (for those romantic picnics), but I’ve found that picnic baskets for 4 work best for large family outings. For the beach, I like to use a traditional picnic basket or a Beach Bag Deluxe Insulated Backpack instead of a wicker picnic basket. It’s amazing how sand manages to find it’s way into a wicker picnic basket, and no one wants sand in their sandwich!

Especially on a hot day, it’s essential to pack your picnic coolers with refreshing beverages and plenty of ice. I have picnic coolers on wheels, but I’ve found that they’re pretty useless in the sand. Rolling coolers are better suited for the park, so I bring a regular picnic cooler for 4 packed with water, juice, and maybe some margaritas for me and Dad!

Picnic at the Park

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Well everyone, the weather is starting to warm up. Spring is on its way in, and you know what that means… picnic weather! So this weekend, my family is going to have a picnic at the park.

We love to go all out for weekend picnics. Multiple picnic baskets, picnic blankets, and lots of fun games and picnic accessories. Sometimes it’s just the four of us, but my favorite picnics are the big ones – we get a bunch of friends or extended family together, and we all meet up at the park with our picnic blankets and picnic baskets in tow. We always get a great variety of food and drinks, the kids have a blast together, and everyone brings their picnic accessories – games, umbrellas, picnic furniture, and BBQ tools.

We’re having a big picnic this weekend, with both sets of grandparents and my sisters family. I’m leaving my picnic baskets for 2 at home, and opting for picnic baskets for 4 (or more!). The food is family style – we’ll have potato salad, coleslaw, sandwiches, barbeque, watermelon, and ice cold drinks. Everybody pitches in to create a beautiful, delicious spread!

We usually let the kids sit on the picnic blankets. While we ladies sit sipping wine and chatting, the guys always end up gathered around the grill. Last year, I got my husband a great picnic accessory for his birthday: the BBQ Apron Tote with Chef’s Hat – he loves to wear the apron because it’s got handy pockets for his utensils, but I’ve only gotten him to wear the hat once. :)

Two other picnic accessories I’ll be bringing with me this weekend are the Melody MP3 Case with Speaker and a Brunello Insulated Neoprene Two-Bottle Wine Tote. The MP3 player fits easily inside picnic baskets, so it’s super easy to bring along.

What picnic accessories would you bring to a picnic at the park?

VRCZZ7HXKM2G

Picnic at the Zoo

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

My kids love to go to the zoo, and this is one of our favorite outings during the spring, summer, and fall. My sister and I spend many summer days at the zoo with our kids, and it just never seems to get old – the animals are always up to something interesting! The one thing I don’t like about the zoo is the price of food. Talk about outrageous!

That’s why we always bring our own food and picnic blankets to the zoo and have a picnic, and save our money for more important things. When it’s just me and the girls, I bring a picnic backpack for 2 – it’s the perfect size for a lunch and some snacks for one grown up and two children. And there’s no reason to be uncomfortable – picnic backpacks for two are easy to carry, and most are insulated to keep your food from spoiling in the heat.

Picnic backpacks for 4 are much more practical for larger family outings to the zoo, so that’s what I grab when my sister and I go together. We load up our picnic backpacks with apples, crackers, cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a picnic blanket, and whatever else we want. I always pack water bottles in my picnic backpack, so we can stay hydrated without paying exorbitant zoo prices for bottled water.

Now, come lunch time at the zoo, you’re going to have to find a place to sit. Of course they probably won’t like you bringing your own food into zoo restaurant, so it’s best to find a shady place to sit outside. If you’re like me, there’s no way you’re going to sit on the ground – who knows how many feet have walked there? So we bring our picnic blankets and spread them out on the ground – just don’t forget your sunscreen!

What about you, readers? Do you like to bring a picnic to the zoo?

Picnic Gifts

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you’ll know that my family and I love to picnic. We have a collection of picnic baskets and picnic accessories, and plenty of picnic blankets. Now, my family and friends always know they can expect great picnic gifts from me. The best part is that picnic accessories and essentials make fitting gifts for any occasion.

If you’ve been invited to a wedding, picnic accessories make fantastic wedding gifts. Picnic baskets for 2, wine baskets, and wine &cheese sets make wonderful gifts for a married couple – they’ll be able to go on romantic and sophisticated picnics together. If you really want to make it special, you can put a bottle of wine in that wine basket, and perhaps a picnic blanket like the Sunshine Blanket Tote. Nothing is more iconic and romantic than an evening picnic under the stars.

Picnic baskets and picnic accessories also make great gifts for the golf lover in your life. Traditional & wicker picnic baskets are great to take on the golf course, and an insulated wine tote or a Six Pack tote is a great way to enjoy some drinks during the game. The Ace Executive Travel Putter Set in Cherry Wood Case would make a fabulous birthday or anniversary gift for any golf lover.

For my mother-in-law, I know nothing could be better than a day gardening and a picnic under the trees. Picnic baskets and picnic accessories she doesn’t need, but an insulated picnic blanket is a perfect place to sit and sip some iced tea. The Gardener Seat with 5-Piece Garden Tool Kit and Garden Metro Basket make wonderful gifts for gardening lovers. The sturdy folding chair features a detachable storage section for 5 essential tools, and the water-resistant basket is the perfect thing for carrying flowers home from the nursery.

Picnic blankets, picnic baskets, and picnic accessories make great gifts for anyone in your family, even if they don’t live to picnic like me!

Planning a Picnic

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Hi, and Welcome to Ellen’s Corner! I’m Ellen, and as you’ll find out by reading my blog, my family and I love to picnic. Here, you’ll find all kinds of great tips and suggestions on picnicking from which picnic baskets are ideal to my favorite recipes to what picnic games are the best for big groups.

To start off, I thought we’d talk about the basic picnic. How to plan it, how to run the party, and what kinds of picnic accessories and picnic furniture you’ll need. My favorite picnics are the ones where extended family or a large group of friends converge on a local park to enjoy picnic games, a big spread of food, and good times.

For a big group picnic like this, you’ll want to let everyone know to bring folding chairs, folding tables, beach umbrellas (if they have them), or other picnic furniture. It’s likely that some of the people you invite won’t have these items, and as the courteous host or organizer of the event, you ought to try and provide these things along with picnic accessories like music and plates, utensils, and cups.

When it comes to picnic furniture, we’ve got everything – I have two sets of folding chairs, an umbrella, and a folding table. The Metro Seat is pretty simple and inexpensive (and great for camping, incidentally). The Folding Sports Chair is a little nicer, and even has pockets on the side for drinks or picnic accessories. I would probably bring both sets to a picnic at the park. If the park you’re visiting doesn’t have tables, consider bringing a folding table. Put thoughts of your grandparents old card table out of your mind – I’m talking about a deluxe, compactable table that folds out to include four seats and even a spot to put a beach umbrella.

Picnic games are one of my favorite parts of big picnics. Picnic games can be anything from badminton and volleyball, to horseshoes or cricket, to simple card games. Ask your friends or family for ideas for picnic games, and use the best ones.