Wear Your Bows: Picnics!

This month's theme for Bibliotheca is picnic! Picnics are a great inexpensive way to hold meet ups in the summertime! They are often cost accessible since people bring their own food or a dish to share and are not limited by seating or other indoor venue restrictions so picnics for large expected turnouts are a good choice! Unfortunately they are subject to weather so if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain you might want to have a backup raincheck day.

I've gone to two picnics this month- one large meet up which was the 10th twinning meet put on by the SF comm! The twinning meet holds a special place in my heart as I actually hosted the first one way back when I first moved to the Bay Area and it's really neat that the idea has stuck around this long to have a 10th one! I also did one picnic with just my spouse at Filoli Gardens. Both times I prepared for the picnic in similar ways.

1. Decide what food you would like to bring and gather the ingredients!

Sometimes I have picnic friendly food at home already but oftentimes I need to get a few ingredients from the store beforehand. For the large meet I decided I was going to bring mini cupcakes as they were easy and little bits of things that you can eat without utensils are more popular for a large meet where everyone brings at least one thing and usually end up with too much! I had box mix at home but needed to get frosting as every time I try to make it myself it's not great.

For the picnic with my spouse we decided to make riceballs for our main dish, cut fruit, and bring some snacks we already had on hand.

Try to make sure the items you are bringing are easily transportable by you, the cupcakes ended up being ok since I had them on two plates and the rest of all my stuff in a bag I could throw over my shoulder but if I needed more hands I'd have to make multiple trips which is less than ideal!

2. Check the weather the night before and gather all items you want to bring!

The bay area isn't particularly rainy during the summer but often it will be breezy and cool or very sunny and warm. I usually end up adding to my bag:

extra sun screen
a parasol that matches my coord
sunglasses
a cardigan
a tripod and the Bluetooth clicker for group shots

This ended up being great set of things both times because the sun was rather warm and I had to top up sunscreen but the breeze was quite cool so the cardigan came in handy!

3. Lay out your outfit!

You've checked the weather so you know if it's going to be more warm or breezy or you have a theme you need to dress to (such as the twinning meet). Make sure you gather all the elements of your outfit the night before if you can to make sure you don't forget anything, including jewelry!

In the case of warmer weather making a coord with a short sleeved blouse, knee or ankle socks, and a hairstyle that keeps your hair up and off your neck might be best. For breezy days a coord that you can add braids or buns so your hair doesn't go everywhere, add a cardigan or other layering option and tights or OTK socks might be best. I also usually try to wear a more sturdy option for this sort of outdoor meet- cotton fabric and lace, no netting or chiffon if I can help it so that just in case while getting up and down from the ground I won't snag anything too delicate.

For shoes I try to wear flat or low heal that are easily removable if possible. Picnics are often on grass and other not-heal-friendly terrains and if you choose to use a blanket I find being able to remove my shoes to sit is much more comfy! But this is to your own comfort level of how confident you feel about being able to walk on grass/gravel in different shoes.

I'd also recommend bloomers/shorts/equivalents. Even if you aren't using a blanket (petticoats make it really easy to flash everyone else while getting up/down from the blanket!) picnic area benches are often somewhat sus so I like to have an extra layer between my undergarments and the world even if I ended up wearing tights!

4. Gather actual picnicking supplies!

I have a blanket that has a plastic on one side and a fleece material on the other that folds up with a handle and it's been one of the best purchases I've made for picnics! This way if it was very dewy or rained in the morning and the ground is still a bit wet it won't soak through and get on your blanket/coord. Gather all plates, cups, napkins, and utensils you need to eat the food you prepared and pack it so you don't forget the next morning. For the future I'd love to get one of those picnic baskets that has the dishes included but for now I make do with a cute tote. Especially if it's just a small number of people I like to try to bring as many re-useable options as possible to reduce day-of trash.

5. Prepare food the night before or morning of!

You've got all the ingredients now it's time to make the items you were planning on bringing! Hopefully you can pack them in a way that is easy to transport. Don't forget a water bottle or other beverage to keep hydrated! Don't forget to sunscreen up before leaving the house even if it's supposed to be cloudy that day 🌞

What are some of your favorite picnic supplies or picnic foods to bring to a picnic of any size?

My Coords for both events:

Twinning Meet: