Originally posted to Coco + Cowe’s Lifestyle blog on June 18th here.
Tis the SZN of picnicking! Honestly, that is one of the great things that came out of Covid, popping up a picnic on any patch of grass and making a feast when we were unable to be seated at a restaurant. There are four elements to perfecting your picnic game, obviously, this set-up is over the top but it does make for a perfect way to celebrate a special occasion under the sun.
Prep Your Foundation
There’s nothing worse than going to the park and having nothing comfortable to sit on. We grabbed these striped throws and affordable seat cushions from H&M Home. They’re easy to carry around in a backpack especially if you’re just packing for yourself or loading a car with a big group! What we ate on was a wood palette, they’re super easy to find and again a really cost-effective option. If not, no stress! You can literally just lay your spread in the middle of your picnic blanket.
Overpack Food & Beverage
When you’re drinking alcohol in the blazing sun, it is draining and you honestly sometimes don’t feel it until you actually get back indoors, in AC. Overpack water and snacks. When you’re picnic packing, you think oh, I’m “not that hungry” but after sitting and sipping under the sun for a few hours, you will find yourself both very hungry and thirsty. Park pow wow’s end up being a full day affair as opposed to a power hour picnic. Coming from people who picnic, you won’t be sorry you brought too much. Scroll for a few of our favourite selections from Summerhill Market. They have some of the best prepared food options, homemade snacks/chips/dips and the freshest produce (cue grapes, cherries, strawberries). Honestly, everything we buy from there is such high quality and delicious. The picnic basket is so cutsey and perfect for dry items like chips, crackers and anything that doesn’t require refrigeration. The one in our images is an Amazon find, click here to purchase.
We always recommend packing a cooler with drinks that are fresh out of the refrigerator and a generous layer of ice lining the base. If it’s not possible, an insulated bag or backpack helps as opposed to just something made of canvas or thin material. If you’re doing cured meats or anything that requires refrigeration, move them from the fridge to the freezer about an hour before you leave, so that you can pack them extra cold. Trust me, after 15-minutes in the sun, they’ll be “defrosted” and beaming from the oil and heat.
Dress It Up
Details are so special to me, you can seriously make something look much more expensive than it is by doing a dollar store + Home Sense run to pick ups some core items and get crafty using Pinterest as your guide. A few things we didn’t have time for today is lining some mason jars with lemons to add a pop of colour and serve as a centrepiece or as your main “spa water” pitcher (we love an infused water option off-site). If you’re feeling so inclined to rent a few place settings to level up your picnic at the park, we rented this beautiful blue and white collection with rattan accents from Splendid Settings in Toronto who has a ton of beautiful options and they handle drop off, delivery and the plates/tableware can be returned dirty eliminating one more step of your cleanup process.
Goldie had to get in at least one shot! LOL.
Tag me in your next picnic setup here.
xx
