Kid Friendly Picnic Ideas

A few weeks ago Piper and I along with our friend Kelsey and her son headed over the Bay Bridge to visit our friend Sarah who recently purchased a beautiful home in a quiet, quaint neighborhood nestled on the water. It was idyllic to say the least! We packed a little picnic and headed down to the sandy beach area just a block from their house to let the kids play in the water and have lunch. I’ve always loved to picnic but have been intimidated by trying to plan a meal that won’t result in a mess with kids. Thanks to a little research I came up with a plan that worked great and we all had so much fun!

My number one tip: bring snacks! As soon as Piper saw I had a basket full of food she wanted to dive right in once we got the blanket set up, luckily I packed a few of Gerber’s new Smart Flow™ pouches  for the kids to eat before lunch while we got set up. They are perfect for outings like this — as the new Smart Flow™  spout is designed to help toddlers learn to self-feed with less mess. I think the number one complaint about pouches in general is that they result in a giant mess, but I have to say with the Grabbers there wasn’t a trace of food on the kid’s hands or faces! I love to keep pouches in our diaper bag for when we are out and about, traveling or have simply forgotten to bring snacks for Piper. They are nice to always have on-hand. Gerber pouches have no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners and are made with all natural fruit (no added sugars) which is important to me.

My Dress // Piper’s Dress 

I also suggest packing food for the grown-ups that’s easy to clean up — we had individual sandwiches (made with almond butter, banana, coconut and maple syrup so we didn’t have to worry about the heat) and glass jars with farro salad and greens to have on the side. We also brought a wedge of cheese and pears to nibble on and for the kids by far the easiest picnic fruit is clementines or mandarin oranges because they travel so easily and aren’t messy.

I also brought a set of glasses, flatware, plates, cloth napkins and a bottle of water. I don’t use disposables with picnics because there often isn’t a trashcan. I keep a small plastic bag in my picnic basket for any trash we accumulate. Everything nestles into my picnic basket perfectly. I love to use Turkish Towels as a blanket because I can easily throw them in the wash to clean and they don’t take up much space since they roll up.

These active toddlers won’t sit still for long, so it’s important to find a picnic area that has something to offer them — like a playground or in our case the water. Otherwise, I highly suggest packing up a few activities or toys to occupy them while you eat and catch up with friends.

Images by the talented Sarah Culver

*This post is sponsored by Gerber, a brand we use love and use. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Mama Notes in business and enable us to produce original content!