Have you packed a picnic lately?
Posted by: KarenLynnI have noticed that the art of picnicking is dying and I think this is so sad. It used to be when I was a little girl when my parents would take us children to a theme park or somewhere special like the ocean a meal was always packed for us. It was always a treat something for us to look forward to. My mother often would make her famous fried chicken, biscuits, fruit, and cookies. When we take our children to a theme park we still continue this tradition I often pack barbecued chicken, deviled eggs, pickles and chips. Items my family will enjoy and my children who are now ten and fourteen years of age still look forward to these times. I have asked friends to meet somewhere and pack a picnic lunch and inevitably they show up with Mcdonalds or fast food. Now I am not knocking the convenience of fast food but there is just not the same gesture to your family and it just does not seem as special. However there are times in all of our lives when the stress of things is just to much to take and we turn to our fast food partners I know…I know.
Many people still have big family picnics but they often end up indoors with the air conditioning and television and no outdoors time. That is why I think a picnic simplifies things, it brings back memories of being a child and enjoying the outdoors. When we treck to the beach we often take sandwiches and fruit to fill up on it always tastes better outdoors and I know it is better for us. A picnic does not have to be an expensive proposition, if you have a bed spread or quilt and a paper bag and some tupperware and of course food you can have a picnic. My children surpised me a couple of years ago on Mother’s Day with a fancy picnic basket but it is not necessary to have a fancy picnic basket as a matter of fact a cooler works great to hold all of your food in. I also like to use a drink container that holds a couple of quarts and make lemonade and we all share it nothing is better on a hot day.
If you are environmentally conscious you can certainly bring a reusable bag or holder for your picnic items and reusable cups, plates and utensils. I myself use reusable plates and silverware but disposable cups. Sometimes we bring books and stretch out on the blanket afterwards, and other times we are more active and play frisbee or catch. Either way a picnic is an old fashioned form of entertainment that seems more and more to be going out of style but I say lets try to revive the “Picnic”! I have family that has been to Sweden and they all pack their food there everywhere they go, fast food is extremely expensive over there so maybe if our fast food was higher in our country we would all stay away from it. Anyway my goal is to get some picnics in before too many mosquitoes come out and it gets too hot…..okay so I am like everyone else but I am still trying to avoid McDonalds.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Hi Joy! What a great idea for a website and I have enjoyed reading some of your blog entries. I wanted to tell you about a site I’ve just launch where you can share, promote, vote and bookmark the articles that are important to you. It is a news aggregation site just for parents. Check out http://www.thebabybug.com and feel free to submit any of your blog entries!
April 12th, 2007 at 6:47 am
I love picnics - and now am wondering why we haven’t had a picnic in so long! Picnics are definitely going to be on the agenda this summer!