Last Updated on 8 April 2025 by Colette
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I absolutely love a picnic – I take great pleasure in putting together a lunch full of treats and picky bits to be eaten alfresco!
When it comes to picnic kit, we have quite a few bits and pieces that we fall back on depending on the time of year and where we’re going for our picnic. Picnics don’t have to just be saved for the summer months – we’ve eaten picnics in the snow and on cold wet walks by the coast. As with most things, having the right gear for your picnic makes all the difference!
What to put your picnic in:
If you’re romanticising picnic life then you’re going to be imagining a beautiful wicker picnic basket but in reality they’re just not very practical.
We have a gorgeous John Lewis picnic basket which I love but rarely sees the light of day as it is heavy and cumbersome – it’s one of those picnic baskets which is great when you want to feel all fancy but don’t have to carry it very far!
Our go to is a Joules picnic bag which we’ve had for years – with the help of ice blocks it does a great job of keeping food cold and we often take it camping for extra storage. The problem with this picnic bag is that it’s generous size means I tend to over fill it making it heavy to carry. It’s great if we’re all going for a picnic and want lots of different bits to choose from – especially if we don’t have to carry it far, but for a longer day out it’s a bit big.
When it’s just me and the kids on a day out, I will try to get them to carry as much of their lunch as possible in their own backpacks, and then I tend to take the bits which need to stay cool in a smaller cool bag. Last summer we invested in a pair of small insulated lunch bags which you can fit a surprising amount in. They fit easily into my rucksack are are the perfect size for a few cans of pop or some sandwich fillings. They were especially handy for keeping beers cold in my bag at Camp Bestival Shropshire and have become my go to bits of picnic kit!
Oh and while we’re on the subject of cans of pop, I really recommend these lids for keeping flies out of your drink and preventing spillages (they’re not totally leakproof but they do help to save most of your drink if you knock if over which happens regularly if you’re sat on the floor!)
For colder days, we love a flask of hot food and have a tried a couple of different types of flasks – the King Thermos is our go to with a handy spoon in the lid (though we tend to carry our own forks). It’s the perfect size for a warm and filling lunch and keeps the food hot for ages. Amy used to have a smaller Contigo flask when she was younger but it’s not big enough for her now.
You can find some ideas for hot picnics here!
We rely heavily on our Montii flasks for both hot and cold drinks when we are out – these are several years old now and still going strong though I’m slowly switching us over to Yeti!
What to eat your picnic on!
When it comes to picnic blankets we have three options now – all from Pacmat: individual sit mats are great for longer walks or days out where you’re not sure what seating options will be, we have the larger XL which is a great size for family picnics and then last summer we got the XXL which is perfect for beach days when you need a bit of extra space to lie down!
If you’re wondering “Can picnic blankets be washed?” the answer is often no – which is ridiculous considering what they are used for. The issue is that the backing and any cushioning inside tend to become separated and damaged leaving you with a lumpy, useless picnic blanket – I know this from experience! All the Pacmat range is fully machine washable which is one of the main reasons I love them so much!
Have you got any bits of cool picnic kit that you think I should add to my arsenal?
Check out our guide to picnics here.
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