Creating a Summer Beach Picnic

• Do as much food prep ahead of time as you can. Pack everything up in Kids Bento Boxes to keep different foods compartmentalized. These Colorful Printed Beeswax Wraps are an especially fun way to transport your food.

• Bring a Beautiful & Functional Cooler Bag to keep your food and drinks from getting to hot in warm weather.

• Pack a few Reusable Ice Packs or just freeze an old plastic water bottle to keep your food from spoiling.

• Make sure you bring enough water for everyone, especially if it's a hot day. These Reusable Water Bottles from Soma are great plastic free options.

• Invest in a set of Melamine Plates. Not only will it help you reduce waste, but they will make your picnic presentation look great too!
Here is another great list of non-toxic outdoor dinnerware options!

• Bring a blanket that's large enough for you to sit on and put your food on. We love these colorful blankets from Nipomo because they come with their own handle for easy carrying to and from your house.

• If you've purchased pajamas lately, then you probably have a Printfresh tote bag just waiting to be reused. They make great beach bags for keeping everyone’s picnic essentials organized. Not to mention, it may even match your Printfresh PJs turned beach coverup.

Don’t go to the beach hungry! It's difficult to have a full meal at the beach. You will have a lot more fun if you opt for a small meal or snack on the beach rather than trying to plan an all out bbq.

Paninis are the ideal picnic sandwich because you can make them in advance and they hold together better than a regular sandwich. I've talked about how much I love my Panini Press before – we really do use it all the time.

I often make mozzarella, chicken, pesto and sundried tomato paninis for adults and they are delicious! My kids love peanut butter, banana and honey paninis as they are just the right mix of sweet and salty.

Last summer, we spent pretty much every afternoon at the beach, and it was sometimes a struggle to pack food that wouldn't be too messy or create a lot of trash. I learned to pack a variety of snacks – like bars, popcorn or pretzels – in small reusable bags or bento boxes. That what you keep everyone happy and if sand gets in one bag, it doesn’t contaminate the entire meal!

Image Credits: Business & Pleasure Co., West Elm, Nipomo, Food 52