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Picnic in the Park Date

| Filed Under: Adult, Gift Ideas, Summer Fun, Tutorials

I love a good picnic in the summer.  And even better, I love a good picnic with my husband…just us! It could be at a local park, in our backyard, or even on our screened in porch after the kids are in bed, it really doesn’t matter.  With four little ones and no family close by it isn’t the easiest thing for us to have date nights out often. Picnics are great because they can be easily put together and laid out anywhere so it makes sense for us most of the time.
I thought today I’d share a few of my picnic ideas with you in case you needed some inspiration or just a peek at what I’ve been doing lately that seems to really work for us 🙂
You really don’t need to go all out with the food, I mean you totally can (and I do sometimes) but I find that the simpler the foods are the more fun the picnic experience is since you are not stressing over making fancy foods and set up.  I also try to have foods that do not need to be refrigerated as I tend to freak out about food poisoning…you definitely don’t want to make your husband/wife sick! And this way you won’t need to load up on heavy ice packs, they can be such a pain to lug around!
Here is a look at some of my favorite things to pack…these items and variations on them work well for us!

We both love beef jerky, turkey jerky, bison jerky, etc. it’s easy to transport, is really healthy and is a great protein. The Krave Jerky brand is gluten-free and nitrate-free and has lots of fun gourmet flavors so you can feel a little less hunting expedition and a lot more fancy picnic food! RealSticks are great too, they have a bunch of yummy flavors and are easy to pack as they are individually sealed.

I love having something crunchy like gluten-free pretzels or crackers and something to dip them in. Sweet dipping mustard is a must-have with pretzels in my opinion! We also like these DipIn to-go dips…just peel back the label and enjoy the simple and tasty ingredients. Obviously you could totally make your own dips, hummus, salsa, etc but these are a fun alternative.

Popcorn is an easy food to pack, you can make your own and spice it up with tabasco, parmesan shreds, or make it sweet and salty or just sweet! We also love our dark chocolate with raw almonds for something sweet to nibble on.  I especially love these extra dark chocolate wheels from Trader Joe’s, highly recommend!

We buy all our raw nuts in bulk so I just repackage them in pretty glassine bags and close them up with Washi tape or some twine to up the presentation factor!

And if you are into wine, let me tell you I just found Stack wines recently…umm, how perfect for picnics are these!?!?  There are 4 pre-filled glasses of wine in each pack…just pop the top of and enjoy! So perfect, so perfect, so perfect I tell ya! I also love to bring fruit water too, so refreshing and easy to make.  Just chop up some fruit and add to nice cold water. Bam! Done!

I bought this sweet vintage-inspired metal picnic basket at World Market earlier this summer. I had been eyeing it since it came out.  I finally splurged (using a coupon, ha!) and could not be happier with it.  It fits perfectly on the back of my cruiser bike! (PS.  I saw online that they are now on sale!!)

Then I just lay out one of my vintage tablecloth pieces into my picnic basket first and then fill it with our goodies….presentation is key!

I add one of my vintage tablecloths on top (it fits perfectly in this basket…LOVE all the room!) so we have something to sit on and Voila! We are packed and ready to go! 
And even thought most of the food I tend to pack is easy finger foods, I still like to pack a little vase for fresh picked flowers and a plate or two so we can feel like we are eating a “fancy” meal.

Do you picnic with your significant other? I’d love to hear what some of your favorite things to bring are in the comments below..I am always up for adding some fun new things to our basket!
Thanks for stopping by today!
XOXO,

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    Comments

    1. Debi says

      For the past few years hubby and I have tried to picnic near his work every Wednesday in the summer. This year we haven’t been very good about it because it has actually been too hot to sit outside, even in the shade. Now that we’ve gotten a break in the weather we will hopefully get some picnics in before winter is upon us!

      • Maggie says

        Oh that sounds like so much fun, what a fun date lunch to have together as a couple!! I hope you get to start them up again…we had the same heat spell and it was miserable. Now it’s almost too cold, lol, what is with this summer?