I’ve always wanted to host a party in the gorgeous park located near our house, so when my son’s second birthday was creeping closer I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for a Picnic in the Park.
While this park does not have a pavilion, I figured it would be worth the risk of rain because our house is close enough that we could simply redirect guests there instead. The weather was perfect, though, and made for a beautiful and relaxed summer party.
For the menu, I went full-out with the Picnic in the Park concept and decided on fried chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, and pasta salad. This was just enough food, along with watermelon and birthday cake.
The key to keeping my sanity was to outsource as much of the food as possible, so that I wasn’t getting the chicken soggy with tears of exasperation. So, I ordered classic fried chicken and fried chicken tenders from a local deli counter, purchased deli-made potato salad, and asked my mother-in-law to make her delicious pasta salad. All that was left for me was cole slaw and that homemade Confetti Sheet Cake, which I posted a recipe for last week.
Obviously you cannot have chicken tenders without a boatload of condiments. To keep things simple, I stuck with ketchup, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing and set a stack of those cute little plastic condiment cups next to them, because nothing is worse than trying to corral a sauce on your plate at a party (skills I just don’t possess).
No picnic is complete without freshly cut watermelon! If you can, cut the watermelon at the party to keep it fresh and flavorful.
Besides lemonade, we also had bottles of water and capri sun and kept them cool in a big metal bin filled with ice.
Kids don’t need much to have a good time when they are outside, but I splurged and stocked up on bubbles, which I have discovered are irresistible to little ones.
For the goody bags (are they still called that?) I found these adorable metal pails at Target and filled them with all sorts of classic kid stuff. Twistable crayons, a notepad, stickers, play dough, silly putty, and fruit snacks went into these fun favors.
PICNIC IN THE PARK MENU
- FRIED CHICKEN
- CHICKEN TENDERS
- POTATO SALAD
- PASTA SALAD
- COLE SLAW
- KETCHUP
- RANCH DRESSING
- BBQ SAUCE
- WATERMELON
- CONFETTI SHEET CAKE
- WATER BOTTLES
- LEMONADE
- JUICE BOXES
- ICE
PICNIC IN THE PARK SUPPLIES
- GALVANIZED METAL BUCKETS FOR DRINKS W/ICE
- TABLE CLOTH FOR FOOD TABLE
- BEVERAGE DISPENSER FOR LEMONADE
- CUPS
- LARGE PLATES + SMALL PLATES
- PLASTIC FORKS + SPOONS (PLACE IN A STURDY CUP)
- TONGS + SERVING SPOONS + CAKE KNIFE
- CUTTING BOARD + KNIFE IF CUTTING WATERMELON AT PARTY
- BIRTHDAY CANDLES + MATCHES
- NAPKINS
- TRASH BAGS
- TOILET PAPER
- PAPER TOWELS
- SURFACE CLEANER SPRAY
- HAND SANITIZER GEL/WIPES
- SUNBLOCK
- LARGE BOUNCE BALLS
- BUBBLE WANDS
- BRIGHT COLOR BALLOONS
PARTY FAVORS
- METAL PAILS
- TWISTABLE CRAYONS
- MINI NOTEBOOKS
- STICKERS
- SILLY PUTTY
- PLAYDOUGH
- FRUIT SNACKS
PICNIC IN THE PARK TIMELINE
ASAP
- BOOK THE PARK: Look for a park with plenty of tables and seating. A covered area like a pavillion is nice to shield from sun and rain.
- SEND OUT INVITATIONS: Send out paper invites, start a Facebook event page, or call your guests to invite them to the party.
2 WEEKS BEFORE
- ORDER PARTY SUPPLIES: Order party favors, disposable goods, and any other supplies you will need for the party two weeks out. Keep the supplies stored in one of the bigger shipping boxes to make transporting goods to the park easier.
1 WEEK BEFORE
- CONTACT YOUR FAVORITE DELI TO ORDER FOOD: Once you have a guest count, place an order for fried chicken and any other side dishes you would like to order from the deli. Set the pickup time for an hour or two before the party.
- ASSEMBLE PARTY FAVOR PAILS
ONE DAY BEFORE
- BAKE CAKE (IF MAKING): Allow the cake to cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. Frosting can wait until the next day.
- PREPARE SIDE DISHES: If you will be making any of the side dishes like potato salad or pasta salad, you can prepare these the day before the party. For the cole slaw, I prepared the dressing the day before, but didn’t mix with cabbage until just before the party.
PARTY DAY
- MAKE FROSTING: Prepare your cake frosting. Remove cake layers from fridge. Assemble on a large serving platter or cake board, then frost and decorate. Store in fridge until party.
- GATHER SUPPLIES: Collect all supplies you will need for the party, including the items listed above and load them into your vehicle.
- PACK FOOD AND DEPART: Pack any perishables like food and cake just a few minutes before departing for the park.
- PICK UP CHICKEN AND ICE: Pick up the fried chicken and other food you may have ordered from the deli (or have someone else pick it up) along with a few bags of ice.
- ARRIVE AT PARK + SET UP: It’s a good idea to bring some cleaning spray and a dish cloth or paper towels to clean the tables and other facilities before guests arrive. Then decorate! Put up balloons, lay down the table cloth, and set out food and drinks.
- EAT, DRINK, AND HAVE A PARTY!!
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