Perfect summer picnic check list

No better way to spend a day in the summer holidays then by having a picnic, We often pack one for days out to keep costs down on a day out as a family, The whole event of a picnic should be something to celebrate and lets face it we don't get much of a summer so lets make the most of it ! 

Doesn't matter if its a picnic in your garden at home or in some lovely woodlands , As long as your with the right people and know what to pack you'll have a great time. 

Picnic check list 

Potty ( not all picnic locations will have toilets near by ) 

Picnic basket or cool box

Disposable plates & cups

Baby wipes ( not just for babies! ) 

Rubbish bags 

Blankets 

Drinks ( take a flask with hot water for teas/coffees ) 

Picnic food ! ( A given really no? ) 

Ice packs ( no one wants a hot pork pie come lunch time ) 

Sun cream & hats

Umbrella ( incase of rain but also good for shade on hot days ) 

Money for the ice cream van ( doesn't matter that treats you pack for pudding the kids will ALL want a 99 from the ice cream van, And so will you ) 

We have a whole host of local places we plan to visit over the summer holidays places such as our local zoo, woodlands, splash park , flying kites up over the downs, play dates with friends at the park and lots more just in the garden. I hope you all have a lovely summer and get to enjoy a few picnics yourself. 

                                

Winter meals into summer meals

In our house the family favourite meal has got to be pie ( steak or chicken ) we all just love it, clean plates all round, but when the heat starts to pick up the thought of sitting down to eat a steaming hot pie isn't my ideal summer dinner.

simple things like adding a side salad rather then veg or swapping your roast potatoes for maybe a jacket or a new potatoes salad with fresh herbs and mayo and the best thing of all ? eat your dinner out in the garden ( pure bliss )

One of our most loved pies is the wild Beaver pie from Brockleby's Pies these can be ordered online via the website but Chris loves to visit county fairs and Brockleby's are often at our local ones ( Bedfordshire area )



these pies are amazing they are so full of meat its unreal they have a wide range of filling from the normal chicken to more unusual fillings such as venison i am keen to try one of the sweet pies either apple pie or apple & blackberry pie

what is your family's favourite meal? is it more of a winter or summer meal? id love to know in the comments.

Simple Bird feeder cups #kidsinthegarden

I am linking you with the lovely LarabeeUK for a blog hop with 13 other bloggers each sharing a great kids in the garden post, we love spending time in our garden and lets face it we could all do with a little less screen time and more fresh air time!

If you would like to read the other #kidsinthegarden blogs please pop over to LarabeeUK blog to check them all out, it kicks off with dinosaur plant markers and my blog is day 5 !

Bodhi has been asking me for a few weeks now to feed the birds in the garden as he often sees our next door putting out bread on her grass. i really don't like doing this as we have a lot of cats in our road and the often catch the birds when they are eating from the ground, so we came up with the idea of making bird feeder cups.

what you will need - 

paper cups

garden string 

lard ( yum )

bird seed 

nuts

dried worms 

jug

scissors

spoon 

Now i let Bodhi play and mix all of the dried parts together on our kitchen table but this is up to you and how OCD you are with cleaning and mess! Body loved this and really wanted to try a worm! ( crazy boy ) 

1 - get your paper cup and make a small hole on two sides, thread the garden string to form a handle and a stand for the birds. 
2 -  mix all the dried parts into your paper cups
3 - ( grown up help needed ) melt the lard in a jug ( I just put the while block in for 2 mins and it was melted, it will smell !! ) 
4 - pour the melted lard over the dry mix and stir well
5 - leave overnight to full set 
6 - hang in your garden and enjoy bird watching.