{"id":5285,"date":"2017-01-25T10:52:08","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T22:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transfercar.co.nz\/blog\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2017-01-25T10:52:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T22:52:08","slug":"7-secrets-for-planning-a-truly-amazing-picnic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/7-secrets-for-planning-a-truly-amazing-picnic\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Secrets for Planning a Truly Amazing Picnic"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few people who don\u2019t like picnics, especially when the weather is nice. Not many things are better than enjoying nature in company of those you love, with fine and carefully prepared food and drinks.<\/p>\n

Unlike those from the past, present-day picnics don\u2019t feature furniture, silver cutlery and servants running around in an attempt to please their masters. Everything is less formal, but that doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s less enjoyable. Even if you don\u2019t have much time to organise every single detail, you can still have a great time.<\/p>\n

Several things can turn a picnic into a memorable event and here are some tips you might want to consider when planning your own picnic.<\/p>\n

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Choose location and company<\/h2>\n

Two of the three most important elements of every picnic (the third one being food and drinks) are most definitely the venue and people you\u2019re planning to invite. You need to start from choosing a suitable, if not perfect, location and those you\u2019d like to keep you company. Your choice when it comes to these two element has profound implications on the food and drinks you\u2019ll be preparing.<\/p>\n

As we said, most people simply love picnics, which means that you\u2019re not likely to have your invitation<\/a> turned down by anyone, especially friends. Now, when it comes to location, you can choose anything from your not-so-inspiring backyard or a slightly-more-inviting local park to the-most-popular beach or a mountain campsite.<\/p>\n

Depending on your company, certain solutions might be preferable to others. For example, if you\u2019re planning to have a lot of young kids, you need to find a place with enough toilets or secluded places where they can do their business. Some people insist on having running water in the vicinity of their picnic spot, which really narrows down the options.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carefully choose the time<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Depending on the time of the day you choose, you\u2019ll need to bring different clothes and some other gear. For example, if you want to have breakfast, you can count on a chilly morning, but you can expect the temperature to rise. On the other hand, if you start in the afternoon and plan to continue late into the evening, you might need to light a fire or grill to warm up or prepare some camping food for everyone.<\/p>\n

Try to please you guests<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your guests are likely to be happy to have been invited, but their delight doesn\u2019t have to end there. Namely, if you take their needs or penchants into account, you may pack various things to help them enjoy the event even more. For instance, an elderly guest is likely to appreciate a folding chair, while kids can never have enough of various balls, hoops, or almost any toys for that matter.<\/p>\n

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Sitting is important<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A lot of time is spent sitting during a picnic, which is why you need to bring a beach towel, old tablecloth, mat or blanket. A woven mat is particularly convenient if you\u2019re picnicking on a beach, since it keeps the sand out of the food. Of course, if your car is big enough, folding chairs are an excellent option, too. If you are looking for other seating options, check out this interesting piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Food<\/h2>\n

The number of people and their preferences are the most important factors influencing the decision regarding the food you\u2019ll bring. Generally speaking, you need some food that you can easily eat from a plate you\u2019re keeping on your lap or out of a wrapper.<\/p>\n

Desserts are usually not a problem, especially if you choose pies or tarts<\/a> from a bakery or homemade cookies. Sandwiches are another popular option, but their popularity is contested by the increasing popularity of salads. Whatever you choose, you don\u2019t need to complicate too much.<\/p>\n

Drinks<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is an extremely important thing to get right, since if you are somewhere far from any store, you might have problems if people don\u2019t have enough of their favourite drink. And in case you feel like experimenting, you can even throw a genuine cocktail party. Here are some picnic-friendly mixes<\/a> to tickle your fancy.<\/p>\n

What you mustn\u2019t forget to pack, though, is water. Bottled water is getting more expensive, and since you\u2019d be needing plenty of it, using a good water filter and filling your water bottles is not only more convenient, but also much cheaper and earth-friendly than buying bottled water.<\/p>\n

Other things to pack<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since you\u2019ll be spending time in nature, you need some sort of\u00a0insect repellent, sunscreen, napkins, matches and hand sanitisers, to mention just a few items. Those more prepared also pack a first-aid kit<\/a> with bandages and plasters.<\/p>\n

Also, you need to collect all leftovers, paper or plastic plates and cups, since you don\u2019t want to leave any food behind. For that purpose, you need to bring enough plastic bags and aluminium foil or containers with lids. Wet wipes are useful for cleaning hands, while garbage bags help you clean the whole place up and leave no mess behind.<\/p>\n

So, if you follow these tips, you\u2019re likely to have an amazing time. Sure, there might be some insects attracted by your food, annoying passers-by inspecting the content of your basket, or Frisbees ending up in food after they knock over several bottles or cups, but, on the other hand, there might be none of that, but just a group of loving people, enjoying their time together.<\/p>\n

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Image credits:<\/p>\n

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There are few people who don\u2019t like picnics, especially when the weather is nice. Not many things are better than enjoying nature in company of those you love, with fine and carefully prepared food and drinks. Unlike those from the past, present-day picnics don\u2019t feature furniture, silver cutlery and servants running around in an attempt … Continue reading 7 Secrets for Planning a Truly Amazing Picnic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel-tips-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5288,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285\/revisions\/5288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transfercarus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}