Yogi Bear is on high alert today, looking to steal everyone’s “pic-a-nic” baskets. Today is International Picnic Day, so it’s the best time to grab your favorite people and head out to the nearest park. Because June 18 is designated to having picnics, it’s important to pack the right food, choose the right place and bring the right people. Here’s how to plan the perfect picnic and properly celebrate International Picnic Day:
Step 1: Find the perfect picnic basket
Yogi Bear said it best: “A pic-a-nic basket has everything a bear needs … A pic-a-nic basket holds dreams.” It’s impossible to have the perfect picnic if you don’t have the perfect picnic basket. A standard picnic basket can come in many shapes and sizes but must be large enough to hold all of your food. The larger the picnic basket, the larger the picnic.
Step 2: Select the food
This is arguably the most important part of the picnic. There is so much freedom when it comes to choosing the food. You could choose to make your own food, buy food from the store and put it in the basket or bring the supplies to make food at the picnic. Then you have to choose what type of food to bring, which could be anything from American style, Italian, Mexican, Chinese or Indian, or you could mix and match multiple types of food. Selecting the food depends on how you and your picnic guests feel, and the food can usually make or break your picnic.
Step 3: Gather the other essentials
Aside from a picnic basket and the food to fill it, there are some other necessities to bring on your picnic. One of the biggest essentials is the picnic blanket, which needs to be large enough to fit all of your guests. Be wary of choosing a blanket that’s a bit nicer because when you lay it down on the ground of your location, there’s a high chance it’ll get a little dirty. Then you need to bring dishes for your food, cups for your drinks and silverware, depending on what food you bring. Other optional items are candles — if it’s a romantic picnic these can come in handy — or some games to play when you’re finished eating.
Step 4: Choose the location
Another really important part to the perfect picnic is the location. Typically, picnics take place in parks, so a great first idea when choosing the location is to look at parks near you. If you don’t have a park or don’t want to go to a park, the location can be your favorite place in your town or even as simple as having the picnic in your backyard. The location is completely up to your discretion and should be meaningful to whomever you’re taking or what the weather is permitting.
Step 5: Invite your guests
Now that you’ve planned the perfect picnic, there’s one more crucial step: inviting the perfect guests. International Picnic Day is only once a year, so you have to make your choices count. You can take your family, your best friends or your significant other and make a great memory. However, you can also go on a picnic by yourself, and enjoy all of your hard work in planning by having a relaxing self-care day, complete with the picnic. Whoever you invite will be keeping you company and sharing in your hard work, so it’s important to choose the right people.
Step 6: Enjoy your picnic
Now that you’ve finished planning, it’s time to enjoy your picnic. International Picnic Day should be a day of relaxation, fun company and delicious food, so make the most of it. Just make sure you look out for a picnic-basket-stealing bear.
