Hey guys, I hope your summer is giving you all the good vibes, especially after the craziness of the last year. For some people, life is pretty much back to normal. For others, social distancing and whatnot are still a part of life. I fall into the latter group to some extent. So as summer winds up I’ve been thinking about outdoorsy things to do for fun. One thing that popped into my brain was picnics. So, naturally, I went on a little bit of a cute picnic ideas spree on Pinterest that took up the better part of my life.
If you’re looking for some good vibes but would rather stay inside – check out this list of 20 great feel-good movies to watch on a lazy day.
I’m not totally new to throwing parties outside, and I’ve really enjoyed the ones I’ve done in the past.
And the good news is, a picnic can be a nice way to spend your time no matter where you fall on the post-2020 scale. I’d still advise being cautious with get-togethers personally, but with a picnic, you can spend a beautiful summer day outside with friends and family, and maybe some well-behaved doggos too! This post will cover some cute picnic ideas for a sweet summertime get-together. So go forth, and enjoy the outdoors, good food, and time with your favorite people.
Cute Picnic Seating Ideas
A lot of time a casual picnic doesn’t require seating, right? A nice patch-o-grass will do just fine. But if you want to take it up a notch, if you’re looking at sitting on dirt or just want to make people more comfortable, you could look at getting some outdoor-friendly cushions. You could also set up some DIY seating.
Cushions
There are cushions that are made for outdoor seating. There are also some cushions that may not be made for outdoor use but could still be used for picnics. You can use a non-outdoor cushion as an outdoor cushion for your picnic is to grab a cushion cover and fill it with soft materials.
Easy DIY Picnic Cushion
Stuff your picnic cushion cover with blankets, clothing, towels, etc. When you’re done with your picnic you can simply empty the cushion and wash both the cushion cover and the stuffing.
You can also grab cushion inserts that are made for outdoor use like these. As well as waterproof pillow covers for them. Any combination of these picnic cushion ideas will help you keep everyone more comfortable without needing to stress about getting cushions dirty or wet.
You could also grab some camping chairs like these, which do offer back support, but personally I think the cushions just look nicer. If you care about your picnic aEsthEtIcs at all. I can get a little too into the visuals sometimes, so I do. Cute summer picnics FTW, amiright?
Outdoor Rugs
Another cool way to make your picnic a little more festive, fancy and comfortable is to use an outdoor rug. There’s tons of them out there with all sorts of shapes, sizes and designs, so take your pick!
Outdoor Rug vs. Picnic Blanket
A picnic rug is a little different than a picnic blanket because it has more structure and the ability to stand up against dust, rocks and wet grass a bit better than a blanket.
Laying down a rug gives you a clean space to build the rest of your picnic setup on. It also helps you keep everything a little cleaner. You technically don’t even need cushions if you have a picnic rug. I’d still get some though because they can be a bit uncomfortable since they’re made to withstand the outside elements.
None of this is to say you should forgo picnic blankets altogether. It could be really cute to add a picnic blanket or two on top of the picnic rug to help add some coziness to your picnic.
See large waterproof picnic blanket
Picnic Table Ideas
Yes, there is a thing that’s actually called a “picnic table” but if you’re looking to create your picnic set up somewhere without a table, what do you do?
Again, it’s totally acceptable to use a picnic blanket as your dining table. It’s a classic, nothin’ wrong with that. But if you want to step up your picnic set up a bit, check out the possibilities for creating a hard tabletop area for dining and place settings.
DIY (cheap!) Ground-Level Dining Table Ideas
You can always grab a regular height table to use for your picnic table. For the sake of this post I’m really focusing on how to set up a ground-level picnic. If you want to use the cushion ideas above, you’ll also want a picnic table that lets people sit on the ground while they eat.
Here are some very affordable DIY picnic table ideas. You could use:
- Pallets – find free pallets and set them out on the ground with a tablecloth over them.
- Literal table tops – go to your local secondhand shops and grab a cheap table or two that will allow you to detach the legs, then just lay the tabletop in the grass as your dining table.
- Also at secondhand shops, find any number of flat objects that can sit on the ground as alternative picnic tables.
- Grab a few blocks (ex: cinderblocks) from your local hardware store, along with a piece or two of plywood. Set the blocks down as short DIY table legs and lay the plywood on top of them, then drape with a tablecloth. You could also find a few suitable rocks to use instead of buying blocks.
You could also grab an actual table like this, that has foldable legs and is easy to transport, and just keep the legs folded in and set it on the ground.
Picnic Food Ideas
You can probably come up with a million things to bring to a picnic. You don’t really need my input, but I’ll kick it off here anyways. Picnic food should be simple, easy to pack, and ideally doesn’t need any cooking on site. This is a picnic, not a BBQ.
- Salads // You can bring a fully made salad (waiting on the dressing until it’s actually time to eat) or bring all the separate parts and a bowl to put it together at the picnic.
- Chips and Salsa // Easy to bring anywhere, and you can grab a couple of different types of chips and dip.
- Sandwiches // Classic picnic food. Make them and wrap them individually so people can choose their sandwich when they arrive, or bring the makings and let them make their own.
- Fruits and Veggies // Chop up an assortment of fresh fruits and veggies and set them out on trays with toothpicks for sampling.
- Cheese Plates // Lay out a tray or board or various meats and cheeses, along with some crackers.
Serving Dishes
If you’d rather not serve everyone directly out of a cooler, bring a few different types of serving dishes and containers that can be set up on your picnic table or nearby.
General Purpose Dishes
You can use practically any type of serving dish for your picnic menu. I like this set because it comes with different kinds of dishes and lids. Some foods may attract insects. So I think it’s a good idea to have lids available for your picnic dishes (if not all) to help keep your food fresh and safe.
Why not plastic dishes?
Once you’ve eaten some of the picnic foods, plastic dishes are more likely to get blown away by a slight breeze. Using real dishes with some weight to them basically eliminates that problem. It’s also nice to be able to move away from plastic in general for our food prep stuff since it isn’t great for the environment and also might leach dangerous chemicals into the food you’re about to eat.
Check out this post for several types of plastic-free food containers.
Fancy Picnic, Retro Picnic, Whatever-You-Want Picnic
Add a little flair to your picnic with your serving dishes by adding some pretty pieces that stick out. You could even choose a theme that’s reflected in your dish choice if you want. Such as pastel 50s, clean and modern, floral and fancy, etc.
For meat and cheese plates
Meat and cheese plates are often served on cutting boards. Some are extra fancy and a little pricey, but there are also ones like this that are very affordable and include serving utensils. Since you’re serving food outside at a picnic you might want something that also has a cover for that type of food.
You can also use plates with glass covers for various other picnic foods such as sandwich stacks and pasties.
Sandwiches
For things like sandwiches, you could either use serving trays (here’s a set of several different types of trays so you can lay out meats, cheeses, toppings, and bread) or you could premake the sandwiches. If you premake them, wrap them up in sandwich paper and label them so guests can pick their favorite.
These paper sandwich bags also come with stickers to help keep the bags closed.
For Drinks
You have a few serving options for picnic drinks.
- You can bring them and set them out in large containers for guests to serve themselves
- You can make or bring individual drinks.
- Some combination of the two.
You could just use the store-bought container that the drink comes in (if you’re not making it from scratch) or you could upgrade a little and use a glass pitcher like this, or a pitcher with a spout like this. You could also have mason jar cups with lids for people to use. Prefill them with drinks and put them in a cute ice bucket for people to pick from.
If you want to go the extra mile, set up a drink cart. It’ll help keep your actual “picnic table” cleaner and give you a spot for all the cups, dispensers, straws, and napkins.
Cute Extras
These are just a few ideas for extra picnic items to bring along for some extra fun.
Picnic Activities
Chess sets are such an easy way to give picnic guests something to do while they relax on your comfy cushions.
If people want a break from lounging, an easy-going game like croquet is a fun and unique game for them to play.
For the music-lovers and some impromptu dancing, grab a cute portable speaker. You don’t have to turn the volume up to the point that no one can hear themselves think. But it can provide some great background music to help the day and the conversation flow a little smoother.
Picnic Decor
Your picnic blankets, tablecloths, and dishes already help create a ~vibe~ for your picnic. Adding little details like some cute decorative solar lights just gives it a little more *SpaRkLe*. You can also add some cool paper lanterns or even bubble machines if the spirit moves you.
