Picnic Basket Essentials: Create a Ready-to-Go Picnic Basket
It’s a beautiful summer day, the weather is near perfect, and there’s nothing to do except spend some quality time with good friends and a few family members visiting from out of town. It is the perfect day for a spontaneous picnic at that remote spot on the edge of the county park. Spontaneity isn’t a problem because there is a picnic basket already made up in the kitchen. You just need to grab a few items from the fridge on the way out the door.
People who love picnicking can make the most of any spontaneous moment by assembling a ready-to-go picnic basket for any occasion. As soon as the mood strikes, throw in a few extra food items from the refrigerator, grab your sunscreen, and away you go. Creating a ready to go basket makes it easy to take a picnic whenever, without having to jump through hoops to get things together.
Essential Items for Your Basket
For all of this to work flawlessly, there are some essential items to always have on hand. First is the basket itself. You should have one that is big enough to carry your food, drinks, and utensils along with a few ice packs and a blanket or tablecloth that you can stretch out on the ground. But don’t make it so big that you need a hand-cart to carry it. After all, a basket that’s too big creates an event rather than an informal, spontaneous picnic.
Things to include in your basket:
• Reusable Ice Packs – Reusable ice packs are indispensable for that last-minute picnic. You keep them in the freezer until you need them, then throw them in the basket along with your food. Put them back in the freezer at the end of the day. Amazon offers a six-pack made by Ice Packer.
• Utensils and Dishes – Anyone can grab paper plates and plastic forks for a picnic, but you want something better. Consider a 24-piece enamel dinnerware set from Coleman, one of the first names in camping and outdoor activities. This compact and inexpensive set includes real silverware – not cheap, plastic you throw away.
• Corkscrew/Bottle Opener – If you frequently take adult beverages on your picnics (most of us do) include a corkscrew/bottle opener in your picnic basket. There are lots of inexpensive options out there.
• Trash Bags – Always carry a trash bag or two in your picnic basket. Why? Because it’s getting harder and harder to find trash bins, even in public parks.
• Moist Towelettes – You may not have access to restroom facilities or running water when you picnic, so moist towelettes are a good thing to have on hand. They’re great for spills or just cleaning up messy hands.
• Condiment Set – A small, plastic condiment set makes it easy to take just the right amount of condiments on your picnic without having to take that full bottle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ketchup or mustard from the fridge. Afterward, refill the containers and store them in the back of the refrigerator until you are ready to go again.
The best part about spontaneous picnicking is that you can just go whenever you have the opportunity. To make it all work, order everything you need to build your ready-to-go picnic basket from Amazon. They deliver right to your door; there’s no need to worry about going shopping. With all your supplies on hand, you will have a great picnic basket ready to go whenever the mood to get out strikes you.