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The Perfect Picnic
Strategies to Make Your Picnic a Success
By Meenakshi Agarwal
With summer finally giving out its magnificent colors, there's no better way to enjoy them than to head out to the open for a wonderful picnic with friends and family. Just follow these simple tips, and you'll find that planning the perfect picnic is no longer the hair-pulling task you once thought it was.
Organization is key to any perfect planning. Always pick a date, time and place a few weeks in advance. This not only will give you enough time to inform your guests, but will also enable you to alter any details if the need arises. Often, people book themselves weeks ahead during summer, so setting a date much earlier will ensure that each of your guests are able to commit themselves to your planned gathering.
If you are planning your first outdoor event this summer, start by inviting not more than a maximum of 10 to 15 close friends. This is a small enough number to help you entertain with minimum fuss, and a large enough number for a healthy gathering. Create a guest list, naming each member of every family you're expecting, and keep note of the number of adults and children that plan to attend. Having a rough idea of the various age groups of your guests will further help you in deciding on the menu, theme and entertainment.
Picnics are meant to be enjoyed by everyone, even the host. There's no fun in it for either you or your guests if you spend most of your time fussing over them. Try as much as possible to make it a pleasant experience for everyone, including yourself. Use disposable dinnerware and utensils where applicable to keep cleanup at its minimum. Whenever possible, delegate various duties to a few close friends or family, such as asking someone to take charge of drinks if you find yourself too busy preparing the food, or giving someone else the responsibility of planning games for the kids. If you're expecting a considerable number of young children, ask the parents to each bring their child's favorite toy along in case he or she starts to get restless.