- A Picnic Blanket - pretty self explanatory. If you don't want to buy one then you could improvise with a dust sheet (used when decorating a house to protect furniture), a magazine/newspaper, chair cushions or an old towel/beach towel. If you're happy to buy one then here are a few for you. A coloured stripy one from Argos or a classic blue one again from Argos and finally another classic blue one from the AA on Amazon.
- Plates, Cutlery, Cups - in most supermarkets at the moment you'll be able to find picnicware easily. You could also buy patterned/plain disposable tableware so have a think whether you'd prefer plastic or disposable. I did have a look around and couldn't find an awful lot on the internet but if you head into your local high street then I'm sure that you'll be able to find something there. Failing that a quick trip to Poundland should get you everything you need!
- A Basket/Cooler Bag/Standard Bag - if you're cool enough to own a picnic hamper then it's a definite must but if not then a cooler bag or just a reusable carrier bag/tote would be just as good. Whichever option you choose it might be a good idea, especially if the weather's particularly hot, to have some of those ice packs in there too to keep everything extra cool for as long as possible.
If you're planning to make a whole afternoon out of it then you may also like to use a combination of the following items...
- Card Games - a deck of cards, uno, monopoly deal etc. would all be fun to bring along.
- Board Games - it's best not to bring anything too large or heavy with lots of small parts but something like twister would certainly liven up the afternoon!
- 'Sports Games' - all I really mean by this is something like a frisbee, rugby ball, football, tennis ball or juggling balls that you can throw around together.
- Sun Essentials - suncream, sunglasses and hat are especially important if you don't want to end the evening as lobsters!
- Reading Material - if you can, try and sneak in the book she's currently reading or go out and buy the current edition (if she hasn't already bought it) of her favourite magazine.
- Speakers - if you like to listen to music then you could pop your portable speakers in the bag too. You could even go as far as creating a summer playlist. Here's one from NME but I'm sure you can come up with a slightly more summery one!
Where to go? I've only listed a few ideas here that I'm sure you could have come up with on your own but hopefully there's 1 or 2 that you hadn't thought of. I've included some indoor locations too so that you can have a picnic even if the weather sucks.
- Your Garden
- The Beach
- Your Living Room (here you can have fans blowing, eat ice cream and not worry about carrying everything!)
- A Field
- The Park
- A Zoo, Activity Park - really anywhere that you can visit that is likely to have picnic benches
- Your Car
- Mountain/Hilltop
- Nature Reserve
How to pick the best spot? For sensible reasons it's always a good idea to find a spot in the shade, or at least as shady as you can find. If you do have a windbreaker or parasol then it might be a good idea to bring that too, especially if you know you're going to be somewhere with very little shade (e.g. beach). Try not to pick the wettest patch of grass/sand around otherwise you'll end up with wet bums and that wouldn't be very romantic now would it?
If you're planning to tell her about the picnic then I've made a few 'invitations'/backgrounds that you can use. They will look much better printed onto photo paper if you have any but no worries if you don't. She'll appreciate the picnic just the same! They're not my best work but hopefully with your final touches of where you're going etc. they'll look beautiful!
If you want to keep it a surprise then here a few ideas of how to make that happen.
- Arrange with your friends to meet up (you can choose to say for a picnic if you like) in the park/at the beach so that she knows where you're going but doesn't suspect that you have anything planned. Also arrange that they have all of your picnic equipment and food and that they set it up before she arrives. Then when you arrive she'll think that you're all having a picnic together, then say hello and goodbye to your friends and sit down and enjoy your picnic. Tips for making this work - ask female friends to organise it, tell your friends that you're arriving 15 minutes earlier than you actually plan to arrive so that you don't catch them setting up or arriving late and give your friends the picnic equipment and food the day before so that she won't think that something fishy's going on.
- Ask a (female) friend to set up the picnic (then hide and watch it just in case some opportunists stumble upon it), preferably in a slightly secluded place, so that you can just seemingly stumble upon it and surprise her.
- Ask a (female) friend to look after the picnic basket etc. somewhere near your destination so that your girlfriend thinks you're just going for a stroll and then as you get nearer to your destination, 'oh I just need to pop over to X's houses because I left something there', and pick up your picnic stuff and go and enjoy!
- For the fancy or impromptu picnics you could also try and hide everything in a rucksack until you get to your destination!
I'm not being sexist but female friends are much more likely to put in the effort to help you than guys are, we're much more romantic and would love to help out!
The Fancy Picnic
This picnic is for the classy girl. Not too many things to buy (and therefore carry if you're planning a long trek or hide if you want it to be a surprise until the last minute!) and more of an afternoon snack than a complete lunch but it can be difficult to pull off effectively if you're not the suave, seductive romantic that all of these chick lit books will have us believe! So what do you need?
- A Bottle of Champagne - it doesn't have to be champagne, it could be something like cava, a nice wine or even something like pink lemonade in fancy glass bottles if she's not a big drinker, nevertheless it should at least look classy.
- Strawberries (and Cream) - a yummy box of fresh strawberries would make a delicious addition to this picnic. If you think you can transport it easily without spillages then some cream might be nice too. Don't forget that if you're having strawberries and cream then you're definitely going to need bowls and spoons, and maybe a little pot of sugar to sprinkle on top!
- Eton Mess - if you don't fancy strawberries then you may like to make up a huge bowl of Eton Mess. The advantage to this is that you can eat straight from the bowl with spoons - sharing, how romantic! If you don't already know how to make Eton Mess then buy some meringue nests from the supermarket along with fresh strawberries and double cream. Crush the meringue into the bowl, hull (remove the leaves and stem) the strawberries and slice in half and scoop in a few spoonfuls of cream. Mix together and add more cream if necessary. If you want to vary it a little you could also add blueberries, blackberries or raspberries (or really any berries!). You could even add some coulis of any flavour (go to the supermarket and you'll definitely find strawberry and raspberry and perhaps even blackberry) into the mix too to sweeten it up a little.
- Cream Tea - for those of you that don't know, a cream tea is traditionally tea with scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam. If the weather's not too hot that a cup of tea would be horrible then bring some along in a thermos. If it is then you could just bring the scone part of cream tea. If you don't want to make the scones yourself then head along to the supermarket but try to buy the best ones they have. If you have a nice bakery nearby then it's likely that you'll be able to buy scones in there too. To be extra cute you could find a heart shaped cookie cutter/knife and cut the scones into heart shapes before you leave for your picnic! If you would like to make the scones yourself then they're relatively easy to make. The recipe below is one that I've used many times and adapted from the BBC Food recipe. I've added sultanas although you can omit them if you/she are not a fan. Alternatively you could use dried cranberries, blueberries or even mixed fruits (preferably berries as huge chunks of banana aren't going to taste brilliant). Click here to be magically transported to the recipe. (The picture is not mine, I found it in google a while back but now cannot find it to give credit where credit is due.)
- French Stick - and dips. Have a look below and you'll find a list of dips. Buying a nice fresh french stick and bringing along some tasty dips will make a nice change to sandwiches!
The Food-Filled Picnic
This picnic is for the girlfriend who doesn't mind eating! I'll give you a list of all the main things you'll need and some of the little things that would go nicely and show that you've really put the effort into thinking about the picnic.
- Sandwiches - if you're feeling extravagant then instead of using a standard loaf of bread you could buy some fresh french stick or even just some yummy soft rolls from the bakery or supermarket. You could even just cut your sandwiches into funky shapes e.g. hearts. If you plan to do that then it's best to cut off the crusts first. For shaped sandwiches, fillings such as cheese (sliced not grated), ham, tuna, or jam would be best. Some other ideas which would work better for standard sandwiches/rolls include cheese, cheese and pickle, cheese and onion, cheese and ham, cheese ploughmans, cheese salad, ham, ham and tomato, ham salad, ham and mustard, chicken, chicken and pesto (best on something other than standard loaf bread), chicken and mayo, chicken and mayo with sweetcorn, chicken salad, chicken tikka, chicken with bacon and sweetcorn, coronation chicken, beef, beef and tomato, tuna, tuna mayo, tuna and sweetcorn, tuna and cucumber, tuna salad, cucumber, prawn cocktail, egg, egg mayo, PB and jam, jam, peanut butter and nutella.
- Salad - you can either make your own simple salad with lettuce leaves, cucumber and tomatoes or you could buy one. If you wanted to add something extra then you could use sweetcorn, peppers, onion/spring onion, grated carrot, grated apple, grated cheese, radish or beetroot. Alternatively you could try something different like a niçoise, caesar or greek salad which you may be able to buy in the supermarket. If you want to try making your own then clicking on the word will send you to the BBC Food recipes. If you didn't want a 'lettuce' salad then you could buy/make a garlic or tomato pasta salad, potato salad, cous-cous salad or some coleslaw.
- Extras - I realise that extras is relatively non-descript but I really couldn't think of a better word for the next things so here goes anyway. This could be things like sausage rolls, cocktail sausages, scotch eggs, pork pies, pasties, onion bhajis, samosas, spring rolls, quiche or gala pie. If you know she's a fan then you could even pick up some nice stuffed or marinated olives. You could also add salted peanuts or another nut mix to your shopping list.
- Crisps - another thing to put on the list would be some yummy crisps. You could just get her favourite Walkers or Hula Hoops or you could get some salted or salt and vinegar crisps (Kettle/Red Sky or something similar) and bring along some dips. If you do bring some dips then you could also buy carrot sticks and celery to dip them in too! So which dips? There's salsa, houmous, cheese and chive, guacamole, onion and garlic, taramasalata, soured cream and chive and tzatziki. It's best not to buy too many so just pick 2-3 easy ones like salsa and soured cream and chive.
- Condiments - you don't have to go mad but if you do have sausage rolls etc. then sometimes it's nice to have something to dip them in. I would suggest just boring old ketchup or brown sauce. For the more adventurous among you then sandwich pickle goes nicely with pork pies, sweet chilli sauce also goes nicely with sausage rolls etc., tomato chutney would be nice with most things too as well as mayonnaise, mango chutney and tomato relish.
- Pudding - this is going to be a long list so get ready! You could buy trifle (individual or a large one to share), yoghurts, chocolate mousse, cheesecake, chocolate torte, chocolate eclairs, profiteroles, scones and jam, (fresh cream) victoria sponge, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate brownies, jelly, shortbread, any variety/a mix of biscuits, millionaire shortbread, rocky road, mini rolls, jaffa cakes, cake bars (jaffa cakes,caramel, flake), tiramisu, chocolates, sweets, welshcakes, cookies, chocolate crispy cakes, anything mr. kipling, gingerbread, flapjack, decorated fairy cakes, doughnuts or iced buns. You could even make the eton mess that I wrote about above or something nice and simple like a fruit salad although if you're going to be transporting it to your picnic place then make sure you put it into something that isn't going to leak!
- Drinks - you don't need to be too extravagant, you could just buy a bottle of lemonade, coke, juice, smoothie or water. If you're super-prepared you could make some squash and freeze it if you're expecting a particularly hot day. Regardless of what drink you buy she'll probably give you bonus points if you cool it well in advance so that it's nice and cold when you go to drink it (the ice packs in the cooler/bag will help keep it cold). If you want to buy something a bit more special then you could buy some Appletiser, Shloer, Belvoir lemonade, berry cider or cocktails.
The Impromptu Picnic
This picnic is for the days when you're walking around town and it's surprisingly hot and you think, today would just be great for a picnic. This idea is more expensive than a normal picnic so try and plan ahead and use the above picnic if you can. If you'd rather just take advantage of an unexpectedly hot day and not worry too much about how much it costs then definitely have an impromptu picnic! This works even better if you can surprise your girlfriend with it so tell her you're popping into the shop to buy chewing gum or something and try and get her to wait outside or browse in another shop. Be aware that if you ask her to wait outside and you take too long or she thinks of something that she wants, she will come in and ruin the surprise! If you're lucky she'll be too engrossed in clothes shopping and you can quickly pop to the shop while she's browsing (don't forget to tell her you're going though!).
Here's the quick and easy list of what to pick up.
Here's the quick and easy list of what to pick up.
- Sandwiches
- Crisps
- Chocolate Bar/Bag/Sweets to share
- Drinks
If you want to make it a little bit more fancy then you could keep in mind the ideas above and pick something up if you see it. What you can grab depends on the size of the shop but I'm sure you should be able to find a few ideas from the list above. If you do get things like pasta salads then don't forget to pick up some plastic cutlery too!
Well I hope you've enjoyed and been inspired by some of these ideas. I hope even more that you'll give one of them a try and give her something to tell her friends this summer! So as always, I'll sign off with good luck and please email me (at lovefromlila@hotmail.com) with things that you've tried and pictures of the huge smile on her face as she enjoys the picnic you've set up for her!
Love from lila xx
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