Summer picnics are always fun. Whether you’re enjoying a get-together with your gal pals or having a date night, here are some of my favorite essentials for the perfect picnic.
Summer Picnic Essentials
Your Picnic Basket
If you’ve been picnicking without a picnic basket, you’re doing it all wrong. Picnic baskets are cute, but they’re also highly functional and exist for a reason. Most baskets include utensils, plates, and cups for you to keep in one convenient spot, along with space for storage.
If you’re looking for a picnic basket for four, I am fully obsessed with this suitcase style picnic basket!
PRO TIP: Buy a corkscrew bottle opener for glass, wine, and beer, and leave it in your basket so it’s always there. Also, don’t forget to store napkins in there, either.
Picnic Blanket
Nobody wants to sit on itchy grass, especially when it’s hot outside. Come equipped with a picnic or beach blanket; they are larger than standard towels so fit multiple people comfortably.
Here are a few cute picnic blanket options:
Clear Containers with Lids
I prefer actual containers over baggies for a picnic. Containers prevent anything from getting smushed, and it’s a lot easier to eat out of a container than sticking hands into multiple bags.
These clear containers from Amazon allow you to easily see what’s inside, and they’re modular for easy stacking.
Cheese Board with Knives
I’m always a sucker for items with smart design. If you’re packing cheese and charcuterie for your picnic (you should be!), then consider this board. It has a slide out drawer to house cheese knives, plus a groove around the rim to serve nuts, olives, crackers, etc.
Foldable Picnic Table
If you really want to take your picnic to the next level, bring a foldable, portable picnic table!
I bought this exact portable picnic table for my parents, and they really like it. To disassemble it, you remove the legs, and then the tabletop rolls up into a bag. It makes it compact and easy for travel.
Since it’s low-profile, it’s specifically made for sitting on the ground, but still provide you with a surface to make eating your picnic treats a little comfier. (I highly recommend a portable table for a beach picnic – the elevated height will keep sand off your food!)
Portable Wine Chiller
For me, personally, no picnic is complete without a bottle of wine.
Keep any wine or bottle chilled for hours with a portable wine chiller.
Outdoor Games
Enjoy a little friendly competition with an outdoor game or two while you picnic. Sure, outdoor games are fun to pass time, but they’re also great icebreaker activities if you’re having a picnic with a group of friends that may not all know each other.
My pick is a bocce ball set because you can play with two people or split people into teams.
Other perfect outdoor games for your picnic:
- Ring toss (like horeshoes)
- Lawn bowling
- Cornhole
- Good old fashioned card games with a deck of cards
Picnics are such an easy way to change up your regular al fresco eating arrangements. Honestly, even if you can’t make it to a park or the beach, taking a departure from your everyday outdoor dining table in favor of relaxing on the grass in your backyard is super fun!
