Summer days are coming to an end and many people are thinking of packing up their picnic baskets until next year. Don’t do that! Going on a picnic in in late sumer and autumn can be a great experience. Picnicking in a great place with friends, family, or romantic partner can be a perfect autumn retreat.

Image via: Rachel Vormittag

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Choose the perfect Location

Location will determine the mood of the picnic. So, it is important to pick up a place that will lift up the mood of the picnickers. If it is a romantic picnic, choose a private beach or lake where you will have the chance to spend some quality lone time. On the other hand, local parks are always a good choice for a family outing. State parks are also nice places that will offer the picnickers a wide variety of amenities too.

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Choose what food and side items you’d like

It is an equally important and challenging part of planning a picnic. However, some items are there that are needed in every picnic irrespective of the variations in food and drinks. Things that you will need are a water-proof blanket to sit on, napkins and paper towels to clean up the spills and messes, a cooler to keep the drinks cool, disposable cutlery and crockery, plates for serving foods, cups for drinks, small bowls for soups, and a plastic trash bag to hold all the trash produced from your picnic.

Image via: Allys Kitchen

Decide on the Menu

The amount of food and drinks will depend on the duration of picnic. If you do not want to cook food at the picnic spot, precook some items that you can eat cold. In this case, buttermilk fried chicken, bowtie pasta salad, and lemon drinks will be an ideal menu. On the other hand, if you want hot and fresh foods, choose items that do not take much preparation time. Sandwiches of chicken schnitzel and tomato salsa, salad made of sliced mangoes and chopped chilies, fruit sticks with yogurt, and a healthy drink will be perfect in this case.

Plan the Activities

A picnic should have included some enjoyable activities. If you take the picnic solely for relaxation, just bring a good book and a pillow for taking a nap. If you are going in a mountainous area, be prepared for hiking. You can get hours of fun with a baseball bat and ball, cards, board games, or a Frisbee. If you have kids with you, take accessories for playing cricket or badminton. Taking pictures and collecting colorful leaves will help making a scrapbook.

Image via: Wired

These days tend to be shorter and calmer than the hot summer days. A Saturday will be perfect to escape the hustling and bustling city life. So, pack your bags and baskets and head out to enjoy a picnic surrounded by all of the colorful leaves.

For more outdoor activities for you and your family click here.