Today was the first time temperatures reached over 50 degrees in my area and that’s basically summer weather here. To celebrate, one of my sister and I met up and had coffee down by the river. As we walked, I saw a perfect spot to have a picnic and I regretted not making a few sandwiches for us to have. It was too late by then for a picnic. However, it’s not too late for you to start thinking about summer activities and picnics in your area.

What to Pack for Toddlers?
The great thing about picnics is that you can have one just about anywhere. I live in the country, so we have plenty of rivers, lakes, and parks to visit. If you live in the city, you probably still have access to a wide selection of parks and recreational areas. It doesn’t take much to have a picnic, just a blanket, a basket of food, and maybe some sports equipment to play around with. When you have toddlers however, the most important thing to consider is the food.

This is because you want something they’ll actually eat, but you don’t want something they can make a huge mess with. Some of the best toddler-friendly picnic foods out there are:
•    Sandwiches
•    Fruit
•    Finger food desserts
•    Dipables
These foods allow you to eat healthy and provide you family with a wide variety so everyone is happy with the meal. A fun thing to do with sandwiches is use cookies cutters to make them into fun shapes. This way they’re hand sized for your toddler and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to eat a sandwich in the shape of a flower, heart, or Christmas tree?

To keep fruits in bite sized pieces without making a mess, consider putting them on a sewer. Or, you can get fruit that is naturally bite sized like berries, grapes, apple slices, and orange slices. Desserts are easy. You can make cookies and bars which are easy to transport and don’t need a fork. Dipables are a little messier, but not too bad. Just take a Tupperware container of your favorite humus or spinach dip and pack a bag of crackers or pretzels.

No Mess, Little Cleanup
With these simple picnic foods, you have more time to play with your children and you don’t have to waste time doling out forks or plates. When everyone is done eating, simply throw away garbage in a plastic bag and break out the Frisbee or the football for some family fun time!

Stamps, S. W. (2013, April 11). kid-friendly picnic food. Popsugar RSS.