Picnic With Toddlers: Encourage Their Creativity

Toddlers are so beautiful, funny, fresh and full of life… but also hard to manage and control! They are at that age where they want to try everything and do everything on their own, but they are still very little to let them go.

Toddlers are movement. They have a great passion for discovering and trying new things. They learn by touching, smelling and feeling. Some experts affirm that a kid’s intelligence will increase if the kid is well stimulated, not only visually, but also by using touching and smelling as opportunities to acquire more experiences. The contact with nature can be a great learning experience and also an opportunity to increase their curiosity and creativity. A picnic moment can offer to your toddler many occasions to learn, discover and create. Below are some ideas that you can try in your next picnic.

Play pretend with your little one. This simple game will help him/her develop his/her imagination and creativity. You can use what you have around you. If you are picnicking in a city park, you can pretend to be squirrels. Play sneaking at the food, or jumping from tree to tree or hiding nuts in the ground. If you are in a wooden area, you got more choices. Just look around you and use your imagination. You can even pretend to be a tree, which stands tall and moves with the wind. If you are picnicking in a beach, you can be a fish, a seagull or even a wave. This simple game will help your toddler be aware of his/her surroundings and learn about animal habits.

Let him or her help you. Toddlers learn by imitating you, give him/her the opportunity to participate in the activity. Your little one can help you set up the picnic or to serve part of the meal. Be very patient, as they need extra time and often can be very messy. With your help and love, your beautiful kid will soon understand the organization and you could be very surprised to see how well he/she can handle a picnic.

Be spontaneous. If you want to encourage your child creativity, give him/her space and don’t be rigid. Some games work better than others, so be ready to adapt. Listen to your child and follow his/her lead. You will be surprise by his/her imagination. A rock, a leaf or an insect can become a game, a new occasion to explore and learn.

Every moment that you spend with your little one can be a source of learning and discovering. A picnic helps you interact with nature, family members, friends and new things. You can make a simple activity, like picnicking, a great learning and imagination event!

Large Picnic Events

The beautiful weather offers the opportunity to spend time outdoors with friends and family. I recently participated in a picnic event. I brought with me my picnic basket for four, but I soon realized that an extra plate, fork or cup is always needed. I always taught that a large picnic basket is only for big families, but when you like to share a picnic moment with friends, it is good to be ready to offer some “picnic equipment”.

I found this nice picnic basket for six very useful. It comes with a full set of cutlery and plates. I am planning to keep enjoying the warm season with family and friends, I hope that you can enjoy it too.

Have a Happy Picnic! 

Sun Protection Tips For Picnic

Picnicking is always fun. Now that the warm seasons are back, we all want to enjoy the nice weather and get our shorts out of the closet. Before preparing our cheap picnic baskets, let’s take a moment to think about protecting our skin while we enjoy the bright sun.

We are all aware that skin protection is essential when we are exposed to the sun in a picnic day. Everybody should get protected even if you plan to stay in the shade. Doctors recommend the use of sunscreen, a sun protection hat (not a regular hat) and sun protection clothes. They recommend to combine them all if the UV factor is high and the exposure time is long. Here you will find some tips that can help you better protect your skin in your next outdoor activity.

The sunscreen is the most known form of sun protection. The main problem with the sunscreen is that most people do not apply it correctly. You should apply a thick layer 30 minutes before sun exposure and then reapply every 90 minutes if the exposure continues. The experts recommend the use of a sunscreen with a SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30 or 40. A sunscreen with a higher SPF is not needed because the UV protection will increase only by 3% or 4% while the risk of allergies increases because of the extra chemicals. When buying your sunscreen, also look for a sunscreen with “broad spectrum”. The SPF only refers to protection against UVB. A sunscreen labeled “broad spectrum” also includes protection against UVA.

Another option to protect your skin against ultraviolet rays is the use of sun-protected clothes. These are not the regular summer clothes that we usually wear. The materials in these clothes are chemically treated to guarantee an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) that can go from 15 (good) to 50+ (excellent). The UPF is used in clothing to measure the effectiveness against both the UVA and UVB. This is an important different between sun protection clothes and sunscreen. When you wear sun-protected clothes, you are being protected against both types of rays. The clothe guarantees that you get the protection indicated in the label. If you use sunscreen and this is not applied correctly, you end up less protected, regardless of the SPF of the sunscreen.

A sun protection hat is also made with treated materials to guarantee a UPF. In order to have total protection, you should look for a hat with a brim of 3 ½ inches or more. Depending on the activity, you may want to consider a hat with a chinstrap.

A picnic day is an activity in which we typically expose our skin to the sun. It is therefore important to also include in our wicker picnic baskets some form of skin protection that allows us to protect our skin while we enjoy our picnic experience.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father’s day is in three weeks! It is time to start thinking about the perfect present for an exceptional dad. In this post, I will talk about a BBQ Tools Set that comes as part of a picnic basket.

There are in the market Picnic Baskets that come equipped with a BBQ Tools Set plus a full service for two or four persons. This type of basket is an excellent present for the BBQ lover. They are very convenient because they come with glasses, cups, plates, cutlery, cloth napkins and a set of BBQ tools. Some of them also feature a cooler bag or an insulated food compartment. These baskets will take the hassle out of your next BBQ Picnic! You will only need to pack your food and you are ready to go.

If you are thinking in surprising dad with a unique and useful gift, a Picnic Basket with BBQ Tools Set is an excellent option.

Happy Father’s Day! 

Picnic on Father's Day

Having a picnic to celebrate dad is a very nice way to enjoy an outdoors moment with family. It can be a very entraining day for everybody. You can plan the day with a lot of activities, like hiking or biking, or you can plan a very relaxing day and give daddy a relaxing time.

If you want to celebrate Father’s day with a day full of activities, you can take dad in a biking day and end the day with a BBQ picnic. Now you find in the market picnic baskets with BBQ tools set. These baskets make easier all the preparations; they come with a full service for 2 or 4 persons plus the BBQ essential.

If you want to offer a relaxing day to dad, you don’t need to plan too much. Sometimes the simplest way is the best. You can take dad to the park. Just prepare your picnic basket with an easy meal, like cheese and wine, and you are ready to go. We can show dad how much we appreciate his hard work by giving him a quiet and peaceful time.

Happy Father’s Day!

Protect Your Skin From UV In Your Next Picnic

Picnicking is always fun. Now that the warm seasons are back, we all want to enjoy the nice weather and get our shorts out of the closet. Before preparing our picnic baskets, let’s take a moment to think about protecting our skin while we enjoy the bright sun.

We are all aware that sun protection is essential when we are exposed to the sun, like in a picnic day. Everybody should get protected even if we plan to stay in the shade. When we talk about sun protection, we usually think on sunscreen, but there are other ways to protect ourselves from UV exposure. I really like the idea of  sun protection clothes. These outfits are designed to protect your skin from the UVA and UVB. Even if they cover a maximum amount of skin, they are cool and comfortable to wear. Sun protection clothing is less expensive that sunscreen, as you can wear them many times, and it is less messy.

No matter what kind of sun protection you prefer, don’t forget to protect your skin while enjoying the outdoors.

Have a Happy Picnic! 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Find the right gift for that special woman can be a tough job. Of course we want to offer her something very special, beautiful and useful. Theses qualities are hard to find in a single product. But this time, you don’t need to look around for the perfect gift; you can offer her a picnic basket! She doesn’t need to be an outdoor lover to enjoy a beautiful basket that can be used in a simple gathering at the park.

There are many types of picnic baskets, to find the right picnic basket for a very special mom follow these tips:

The Wooden Picnic Basket is the old elegant traditional baskets. If your mom love the old elegant fashion way, this basket is right for her. You can find baskets that come with full service for two or four persons with large food compartment.

The Willow Picnic Basket is the classic of all the baskets. These baskets are very elegant and you can find them in different sizes, shapes and accessories. Some baskets come with full service for two, four or even six persons. Others come with an insulated food compartment or cooler bag inside. If your mom loves the classic style, this basket will definitely make her happy.

The Picnic Backpack Basket is the free hand picnic basket. This is not a traditional one, but definitely the most practical one. Your mom can use it in a picnic day or for tailgating. If your mom is a sport person, this basket will work great for hiking or biking. You can find this type of picnic basket with a full service for two or four persons. You can also find picnic backpack baskets that come with an insulated food compartment.

The Picnic Cooler Basket is the tailgating ideal. This basket is very light and can be store very easily. It will work perfectly for a picnic day at the park too. This basket is very convenient to transport all your food supplies. It can also be found with service for two or four persons.

I hope that these tips will help you to find the perfect gift for that very special woman that we all owe her our life and we simply call her MOM.

Happy Mother’s Day!