No matter how large or small your picnic may be, you need some way to transport your food to and from the picnic area. For the family, a compact picnic basket is a good choice. It has compartments for keeping your dishes safe. Picnic baskets can be purchased relatively easily, but with some creativity, some old paint, a fruit basket, or some empty wooden boxes, you can create your own picnic basket. These can often create the same look, and do the same job, as one purchased from the store, thus allowing you to reuse the materials and save some money. Simply add some old dishes that are not used any longer, as well as some silverware, and you have a complete kit. These tools can useuall be found relatively inexpensively as well. It is best to have the tools prepared before the time of the picnic, that way all you need to do is pack your food and leave! It is also a good idea, if your family loves to go picnicking to have a drawer or space set aside to store your basket so you can easily get to it and pack and leave for a spur of the moment picnic.
If you are preparing the food for your picnic at home, and then transporting it in the basket, here are some tools that should be permanently placed in your basket: plates, non-breakable cups, knives, forks, teaspoons, tablespoons, a large cutting knife, a bottle opener, salt, pepper, sugar, butter, salad dressings,etc. If you do not want to take all of this home and wash it, consider using paper plates and cups to make clean up really easy. If the meal is to be made partially or entirely out of the home, you may want to add a frying pan, kettles, utensils, matches, and towels and soap to your kit. Other tools with are not necessary, but may prove helpful include pot holders, a camping stove, a folding grate, and reflectors.
For the family who incorporates a lot of needs on their picnic, including multiple totes, coolers, foldable tables, etc, you may want to consider a larger cooler picnic container. This allows for more space to pack your food and beverages, as well as the utensils and needed tools. Sometimes these can be found with rollers, to make transportation from the car to the site much easier!
