How To Plan The Perfect Valentine’s Day Picnic
Valentine’s Day is upon us and love is a great reason to celebrate! Whether you want to celebrate a romantic love, have a special night with your closest friends or just want to spoil yourself, take a moment to lean in to the single greatest emotion in human connection. Love.
I love a good picnic. Togetherness, fresh air, good food. All of the good things! Today I’m sharing my recipe for a perfect picnic and encourage you to try this idea, if you’re looking for a way to celebrate Valentine’s day…or any day!
Make it as casual or as embellished as you’d like. Share it with your partner, your friends or your family. Or even just take a blanket to the beach for some solo time to reflect on what you love about yourself! However you choose to celebrate, a picnic can be a ton of fun. So, take any of these ideas and turn them into your own!
Cheers to love and cheers to you! A special thanks to Love Looks Like Photography for capturing our family’s special picnic!
Location and timing
Figure out what you want the feeling of your picnic to be. Do you want a romantic candle filled picnic at night or an afternoon under the sun? Start here and then build around that. Next choose a location that will lend well to that feeling. Perhaps a beach, a grassy knoll, the riverbank, your backyard, your living room floor, the back of your truck, a park, under a shaded tree…the options are endless. Plan accordingly for the weather you are expecting.
2. A good base
A traditional picnic is on a blanket, so get a big one that will allow you to lounge. I love our Cloud Cotton Quilt from Parachute Home and it was the perfect base for our picnic. A helpful tip: Use a tarp under your blanket to keep it clean and dry! I also love the portable roll up picnic blanket that we keep in the back of the car for impromptu picnics or just for playing at the park. Bring along as many pillows and floor cushions as you’d like, as well, to encourage lengthy lounging!
3. Food, obviously.
What do you want to eat? My favorite, go-to for picnic meals is charcuterie. So easy to manage without utensils and no cooking necessary, the options are endless and sure to please anyone. Create a spread of your favorite items. Trader Joes is my favorite place to shop for this and here are some favorites of ours.
Assorted cheeses - I love an assortment of hard and semi-soft cheeses. Herby or infused Cheddars soaked in wine. Triple Cream Brie, Truffle cheeses, Gouda, Manchego. Goat Cheese. You name it. Grab what you love and try to include 2-3 options of different flavors.
Assorted meats - Salami, Prosciuttio, Chorizo, Sopressata. I also love the pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joes for an easy kid friendly option.
Fruit - Grapes, Strawberries, Figs, Raspberries, Cherries, Blueberries, Blackberries. Whatever you enjoy and is low maintenance when it comes to prepping.
Nuts - Marcona Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Cashews, really any kind of nuts you love! A few from Traders that are my favorites are their Rosemary Marcona Almonds, Sweet and Spicy Pecans, Everything But The Bagel Seasoned Cashews.
Dips + Spreads - Give me allll of the dips and spreads. The options are endless really. Here are a few… Hummus, Olive Tapenade, Tzatziki, Jalapeno Relish, Spicy Mustard, Chutney, Jams and Preserves.
From a Jar - Pickles, Pickled Asparagus, Stuffed Peppers, Olives etc.
Carbs - Fill out your spread with baguette slices, scones, crackers, breadsticks and more.
Dried - Dried fruits add a lovely texture and flavor and some of my favorites for a charcuterie spread are Figs, Persimmons, Mango, Apricot and Raisins.
Beverages - You’ve gotta toast the occasion, so grab a fun beverage! Anything from a cocktail or sangria to a sparkling lemonade will do!
4. Plates, glasses, cutlery and serveware
Makes sure have something to eat this gorgeous meal with and on, so don’t forget to pack your dishes! Bring your every-day dish ware from home or grab a disposable option to dine with. I love bamboo plates and flatware for something pretty and easy to compost afterward.
5. Flowers
I have a firm belief that flowers make ANYTHING more special! Take your picnic to the next level with some fresh stems from the farmer’s market or your backyard. Grab a favorite vessel and pop them in. This time of year is often hard to source fresh stems and so I (again) turn to Trader Joes for their awesome floral options. I also love incorporating dried flowers and foliage, which is available year round.
6. Music
Nothing quite sets a mood like music. Grab a playlist on Spotify that gives the vibe you are going for and a portable speaker to play it from your phone. We love the Oontz Bluetooth Speaker that we got on Amazon. For $30 it was a steal for the quality!
7. Something to carry it all
Every picnic needs a basket or bag to carry your things in. I love this gorgeous bag from Anders Shop and it did a great job of helping me wrangle and carry a bunch of necessary picnic items. Thanks to my hubby for helping carry the rest :)
8. The best part of all
Whoever you’d like to join you! (Or just yourself!) After all, a picnic would be just a blanket and food without some special people to accompany it!
Wishing you a very special Valentine’s Day, however you are celebrating! Whether it is picnic style or other, enjoy love. A picnic is fun anytime of year, so save these tips and create your own celebration whenever you’d like!
Thank you again to Love Looks Like Photography for helping document our special day. You really are the best!
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