When thinking about what to do this year for Father’s Day, the usual thought of “let’s book a table in a restaurant” immediately came to mind. I do love my food and being treated to a meal out, however, if I am completely honest with you, it can be rather stressful dining out as a young family of five. I often feel like there is a huge time pressure involved and an obligation to keep my children entertained whilst they wait for their food to arrive and once it has arrived, a further obligation to keep the floor clean from all the food debris that can be left behind (especially from Scarlett!).
So, instead of dining out this year, we have opted to host our very own Father’s Day picnic. Picnics are one of my favourite family things to do as it gives us the freedom to choose where we want to go, the foods we want to eat and space for the children (and us adults) to enjoy.
As with anything I put my hand to, I like to bring a bit of my style – my ‘home style’, to the occasion. I like to feel comfortable in my surroundings, whether that be with the environment I am in or the setting that I create. To create our perfect picnic setting I decided to bring a bit of comfort and home styling to the setup. I visited a Homesense store (probably one of my favourite home interiors shops) and purchased everything I needed to host the perfect picnic. They’re part of the TK Maxx family, so if you love TK Maxx home, you’ll adore Homesense! You’ll be able to find quality homeware for up to 60% less than the RRP.
When creating an area for a picnic it is important to get the layout just right – the last thing you want is to get everything out and then realise the spot you have chosen and the lay you have opted for, isn’t right, and you have to move everything! I like to pitch up somewhere near to a wooded area so you have a mix of sun and shade and an opportunity for the boys to adventure. I like to zone my picnic area and to do that I use a lightweight rug (not a blanket) as this provides a more firm and structured surface area which doesn’t move and gather as easily. I picked up a gorgeous blue and grey (yes, my favourite home interior colours!) patterned rug from Homesense for only £29.99 and it is the perfect blanket substitute.
I teamed my rug with complementary cushions, also from Homesense, priced between £14.99 and £19.99 each. Not only does this add a bit of home style to your picnic setup, it provides comfort and a relaxed vibe too.
In my opinion, the secret to a perfect picnic is organisation. Having what you need in the right place can make all the difference to the success of your picnic. To help with order and layout, I like to use trays to position food jars, packets, drinks glasses and bottles on. Having a hard flat surface is a god-send when outside on uneven ground!
When shopping in Homesense for all my picnic essentials, I decided to look down the food isles too. Now I’ve got to be totally honest here, I have never purchased food from a Homesense store! I think it’s something we completely overlook as a product group that they sell. On this occasion, however, I did and I picked up some rather amazing food. I was surprised by the amount of different and unusual foods they offer, from exotic dried fruit and biscuits to truffle infused pestos. I can highly recommend the fish and chip flavoured crisps – they were amazing!
I like to give my children individual lunch boxes. I find it much simpler for them to have their own selection of food as it reduces the need for them to move around the picnic rug. I was really impressed to find these eco-friendly bamboo fibre lunch boxes in Homesense at £4.99, almost half the RRP.
What I loved about this picnic was the time that we spent together as a family which ultimately, is the most important thing when celebrating Father’s Day. It was wonderfully relaxed, simple and free from any worries.
If you are lost for ideas of what to do this Father’s Day, why not host your own family picnic? Thank you for reading and Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!
Find your nearest Homesense store here: www.homesense.com/find-a-store
