Ahhh, let us rejoice!
March is finally here, blessing us with the beauty of slowly awakening, Alice in Wonderland-y landscapes, and allowing us to finally forget about those impossibly long, gloomy, and dark winter days. Although we are in Canada and can’t really say that March is *actually* a warm month, the prospect of slightly cozier temperatures with no chance of snow (fingers crossed), leaves room for a multitude of fun outdoor activities that don’t involve wearing a balaclava, including picnics!!
Although Instagram makes picnics look incredibly easy to organize, they can actually be quite tricky if you’re a newbie to the art of making half of your fridge fit into a tiny Costco cooler. If you know what and how much to pack though, you might not have to starve for the sake of aesthetics or have a shabby-looking setup in the name of practicality.
- Stick to sandwiches!
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They are easy to prep the night before or even the morning of. You can pick the bread size and choose whatever fillings you want, so you can customize each one.
- Prep a cooler for perishables…
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but also a grocery bag (a backpack might be more convenient, depending on where you’re having your picnic) for items like chips, cookies, napkins, cutlery, and cups.
- Try to fit everything in your cooler + grocery bag/backpack…
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including your blankets and/or towels. I know it might sound impossible to fit everything into two bags, but this will also remind you that less is more! In this case, you’ll have to be realistic about the food you’ll be consuming and the cutlery/cups you’ll be using. Packing extra forks, plates, and cookies is tempting, especially if you’re going to spend the whole day outside, but trust me, if you pack exactly what you’re going to eat, there’s no chance you’ll starve!
- Be creative!
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Prep some nice, filling smoothies the night before! This way not only will you take care of your daily dose of greens, but you’ll also be saving space!
- Pack the right amount of ice in your cooler.
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If you have a small cooler, you can purchase small ice bags at the dollar store or at Canadian Tire. This way, the ice won’t take all the space in your cooler while still keeping your perishables fresh!
- Last, but not least, don’t forget your camera!
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Take a cute pic as a memento of your picnic success! And if your picnic set up has made you realize you have absolutely no sense of design or aesthetics whatsoever, well… it’s one more thing to exclude from the ‘potential jobs’ spreadsheet!
Regardless of how your picnic will look, the satisfaction of having done some savvy grocery shopping and having managed to make everything kinda fit into a weirdly-shaped box deserves some praise… at least these days anyway!