Summer is the perfect time for a picnic. But summer has gone, and we find ourselves in the company of autumn. One may think to pack away the picnic basket until next year. Don’t. Picnicking in autumn can be just as enjoyable as picnicking in summer. Of course, the food that you serve will be different than typical summertime fare. You’ll want to skip the melons and cold pasta salads, opting for cooler weather treats instead.
Packing Essentials. Even though the food and drinks that you pack may vary, there are items that should always be included in your basket:
Utensils: The type of utensils you pack will depend on what you are packing. For cooler foods, it is okay to pack plastic silverware. For warmer foods you will want to stick with the real stuff.
Napkins & Wipes: Keep messy hands and faces in check by supplying plenty of napkins and wet wipes in your basket. Wet wipes can also be used to “rinse” off your dishes before packing them back into the basket.
Dishes:The type of dishes you pack will vary with what you serve. Small bowls for soups, cups for drinks, plates for all the other good stuff.
Plastic Trash Bags:You don’t want to litter. Pack a trash bag to hold all of the trash that you create from your picnic. You can also use a plastic bag to collect nature items for craft projects, such as pine cones and leaves.
Blanket:You will need something to sit on when you eat if there are no picnic tables available. Planning to sit on a blanket to eat also allows you more freedom over where you picnic. You can choose to pack a vinyl tablecloth which can be used both as a tablecloth for a picnic table or a “blanket” to sit on.
You may also want to pack your camera for photo opportunities. What a great family portrait idea to capture an image of you and your family enjoying a picnic among the colorful leaves. Bring along clipboards, pencils, and pieces of paper listing items for a scavenger hunt for the children. Bring along a guide book which shows the different types of trees and leaves in your area. Try to find as many different leaves as you can and looking them up in your book to learn a bit about nature.
The Goodies. Now that you have all of the essentials covered it’s time to think about what types of food and beverages you should serve. You can visit Recipe Zaar’s list of 525 Fall and Picnic Recipes to find recipes for different foods you can pack. You can find the link to the list at the end of this article. When thinking about what food to pack, try to stick with items in season. Pumpkins, squash, and apples are all good choices for Autumn fare. With the cooler weather you may want to think about bringing along a thermos filled with soups and hot beverages.
Themed Picnics. You can make picnicking fun by choosing to do a themed picnic. There are many different themes that you can try. If you use your imagination you can come up with many ideas. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Hot Cocoa Picnic: Bring thermoses filled with enough hot cocoa for everyone. Bring along extras so that everyone can personalize their own mugs of cocoa. Bring along marshmallows, chocolate chips, peppermint candies, sugared orange peels, etc. Bring along a sweet treat to go with the cocoa, such as cookies or muffins.
Pumpkin Picnic: Bring along orange plates, napkins, cups, and/or even plastic silverware. You can pack many different types of pumpkin treats for your picnic. For recipe ideas you can visit PastryWiz’s list of 55 Recipes that call for Pumpkin. Look for the link at the end of the article. You could instead choose to do an apple themed picnic as well. You can choose to picnic at an apple orchard to go along with your theme. Candy apples, apple pies, and apple tartlets would all make great treats to pack for your apple themed picnic.
Soup and Sandwich Picnic: There are many recipes out there for making sandwiches and soups that you can bring along on your picnic. You can bring along grilled cheese wrapped in foil to retain heat and tomato soup in a thermos. Instead of sandwiches you could choose to bring along bread for dipping, hard crusty rolls with soft centers make a great bread for dipping into soups. You can even bring sandwich cookies along for dessert, “gluing” two cookies together with some orange frosting.
So when Summer is over don’t pack away your basket. Fill it with goodies instead, and go out to enjoy an Autumn picnic beneath bare limbs and surrounded by all of the colorful leaves.
Reference:
- Recipe Zaar’s List of Fall and Picnic Recipes: www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=157%2C164&ls;=d&pg;=3
