10 Summer Picnic Essentials

After the most amazing weather that we have been having recently I finally bought myself a wicker picnic basket (so it’s my fault if Summer now turns bad, sorry!).  I have been wanting one for years and managed to pick up this Joules Whitstable 4 person picnic hamper in the John Lewis sale (it’s now out of stock there but it’s still available from Joules) and I’m looking forward to using it.  Now that I’ve got the picnic basket covered here is a list of Summer Picnic Essentials that you need to bring along with you.

Summer Picnic Essentials

Blanket

Picnic blankets are ideal for placing on the ground and using for displaying the food, as well as sitting on as you don’t want a damp bum from sitting on the wet ground.  If you don’t have a picnic blanket you could use a tablecloth instead.

Basket/Rucksack

A picnic basket or rucksack looks so much better than humphing a carrier bag filled with stuff around with you.  Also they are far more sturdier and won’t rip or the handles snap.

Coolbag

A coolbag is a definite picnic essential for these hot days to keep your food fresh and cool.  Also if you are bringing beer and wine along then it will keep it nice and chilled, as no-one wants to drink warm beer or wine. Bleurgh!!

Food

You can make things at home like sandwiches, potato and pasta salads or even fruit kebabs.  Just be wary of any leakages, storing the salads in a kilner jar should help prevent any leaks from dressings, oils, etc.  If you want to make life much easier then head to a supermarket and pick up some things from there.  Things like deli meats, fancy breads, olives, fruit etc are ideal picnic food.

Sun Cream

Remember and bring along your sun cream, even when it’s cloudy you can still burn as the UV rays can still get through.

Citronella Candles/Insect Repellent

I hate eating outside with loads of flies, bugs and wasps hanging around my food.  Lighting a citronella candle should help shoo them away while you eat or if you don’t want to have a lit candle around as there are young children there then spray everyone with an insect repellent.

Chooooooons

Having a decent playlist will put everyone in the Summer mood, if you can’t be bothered to make up your own playlist you can download compilations such as Now That’s What I Call A Summer Party to your phone.  Remember to take some speakers too.

Outdoor Games

To save hearing the “I’m bored!” phrase, bring along a frisbee, badminton racquets, pavement chalk or even take along a giant Jenga if you have the room in your car.  Will also help work up an appetite so you have less food to take home with you.

Napkins

Remember to bring along some napkins or even baby wipes to clean up sticky hands and faces.  Can also be used to mop up any spillages that will no doubt happen.

Rubbish Bag

Take a black bag or some other bag so you can chuck all your rubbish in it once you are ready to leave.  Do not leave anything lying around in the environment as wildlife can eat it or get stuck amongst plastic.

I hope you found this post useful for your picnics this Summer.  What are your Summer picnic essentials, let me know below.

If you are looking for other Summer posts:

15 Things You Can Do This Summer

30 Summer Blog Post Ideas

30 Things I Love About Summer