Planning the Perfect Family Picnic

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It’s been almost two months since we moved, and we’ve had some awesome adventures already! Even though the sun is hot and it rains almost daily, we are still able to spend lots of time outdoors, embracing our new surroundings. We take weekly walks as a family to our community farmer’s market. We visit new parks, restaurants with outdoor seating, and nature areas. We even went shark-tooth hunting in a local creek! But as the summer winds down {school actually began for Lydia today, Bryce on Wednesday}, it’s time to use after school and weekends to really enjoy family time together. So why not plan the perfect picnic to connect with your kids? Here are my tips!

The Perfect Location

When planning a picnic, you need to pick out the perfect location. Our community is nestled in beautiful wooded areas. Running through the community is a trail lined with moss-covered trees, butterfly-attracting plants, and large birds like hawks. We also have what’s called the village center, which houses many small businesses, like a dance studio, veterinarian, and realtors, along with restaurants serving delicious local fare. Just outside the village center is a beautiful pond filled with wildlife and native plants. That’s the location we chose for our picnic.

The Perfect Snacks

A picnic is not a picnic without snack foods. I generally try to pick items that requires minimal preparation at the picnic {e.g. I don’t want to have to bring a knife along to slice anything} and store these food items and snacks in my Gray Luxury Lunch Bag. Here are some of our favorite foods for the perfect picnic:

• Fresh fruit, including berries, apples, plums, bananas – Basically whatever is in season. Dried fruit is a great alternative as well.
• Nuts, trail mix, or popcorn – something savory and mess-free
• GOOD THiNS in several varieties
  • The Beet One, flavored with balsamic vinegar & sea salt
  • The Wheat One, made with ancient grains like quinoa, amaranth & millet. Baked deliciously thin & crispy
  • The Potato One, made with real sweet potatoes {60% less fat than the leading regular fried potato chip}
• Pre-sliced harder cheeses -or- soft cheeses that require a chip or cracker to eat
• A special treat, like homemade granola bars or cookies, that the kids will love

Shareable snacks are the most important picnic essential! We brought along three GOOD THiNS varieties to share. Lydia liked the Wheat Ones, Bryce liked the Potato Ones, and I enjoyed the tangy flavor of the Beet Ones. We each tried each others’ GOOD THiNS because sharing is caring! Click HERE for more GOOD THiNS serving ideas.

The Perfect Wildlife

Did I mention how much we enjoy the wildlife within our community? While enjoying our snacks, we went on a little wildlife hunt. We found lots of fish and turtles, but our favorite little guy that day was this frog. Isn’t he cute? The swallowtail butterfly is beautiful as well. Last week, we even saw an awesome little hummingbird. When we are constantly connected to our wireless devices, it’s so important to remind our children to be aware of their surroundings, acknowledge the trees and critters around them, and appreciate nature. An outdoor picnic is the perfect way to do that!

A few other essentials for your perfect picnic:

• Don’t forget to pack sunscreen, sunglasses, and sunscreen. In Florida, the sun is still harsh, so we need to protect ourselves when we spend time outdoors.
• An old tablecloth makes a great picnic blanket and can easily be thrown in the washing machine when you return home.
• Stay hydrated – pack a jug filled with water or bring along multiple water bottles.
• My children tend to enjoy touching nature {e.g. leaves, mud, sticks, insects}, so bring along some hand sanitizer or wet wipes to clean hands before eating and remember to teach them the Importance of using Hand Sanitiser.
• Try to put down the technology and enjoy time spent together.

I found all three varieties of GOOD THiNS – the Wheat one, the Potato one, and the Beet one – at my local Kroger. Find your local Kroger Family of Stores HERE to get your GOOD THiNS. GOOD THiNS start with real ingredients {like wheat, potato and rice}, combined with enticing flavors (like garlic, spinach and sweet potato) and baked thin and crispy without any artificial flavors, colors, cholesterol, partially hydrogenated oils, or high fructose corn syrup.

How do you plan the perfect family picnic?