How to Host a Picnic Party that is Baskets of Fun

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Our family gets together a ton in the summer, and this Memorial Day Weekend was the start of the fun. I love hosting parties and wanted to make this weekend at the cabin extra fun. I had been thinking about how much fun we always had going on picnics when we were younger, so I decided to go with a picnic theme.

I put on my thinking cap and decided to make this a party for everyone, the adults, kids, even the dogs. I headed out to Walmart to pick up what we needed for the party, starting in the candy aisles. I figured that since it was suppose to be in the 70’s, it was perfect weather for some ice cream treats. Next stop: the dog aisle. I stopped by the fabric and craft aisles for a few things and headed home.

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It is always best to keep the kids entertained, so we started off with a Skittles® craft for the kids to make. The littler kids had a blast gluing Skittles® onto the picture in a paint by number manner. The pictures turned out adorable and you can print them out yourself at the bottom of the page. The Skittles® 14 oz bags were perfect for this and it helps younger ones to learn their colors.

I also made some homemade bug shaped sidewalk chalk for the kids to play with. If there is one thing my kids love, it is drawing on the sidewalk!

I was really excited to include the dogs in our celebration this time since so often, they just sit there staring at me begging for a scrap of something! I had picked up some Pedigree Dentastix® in the Original Flavor and the Beef Flavor. I decided to make them into popsicles using the Dentastix as the popsicle stick. I first made some beef broth, then poured it into some cups. As it froze a little bit, I stuck the Dentastix in and let it freeze the rest of the way. The 3 dogs were so excited to be given a treat instead of just told to get away from the food table this time. Do you see how happy they are?

Decorating the table for the party was so much fun. I got to use a few things I have had laying around just waiting for me to put to use. I had this wooden box that I knew would be perfect for a party setup. I covered it with a scrap of picnic blanket and set our mason jar glasses on it. I love the finished look.

I used some of the checkered fabric I had, removed the lids from the mason jars, hole punched the center of fabric and screwed on the lid. Then I added a red striped straw to complete the look. I loved that it created such a fun, festive look without much effort.

I saw my cousin sitting around relaxing while I was getting things ready and BEGGED her to help me out by sorting a few bags of Skittles®. I thought they would make the perfect vase for the flower cookies with Starburst® Minis Unwrapped frosting. These were super easy to make and they taste amazing! Here is how:

Start with your sugar cookies. I used a store bought dough this time. Cut them into flower shapes before cooking {I forgot, and I promise, it isn’t fun to cut sugar cookies into shapes after they are cooked}.

Pour the Starburst® Minis Unwrapped into a microwavable bowl. Cook for 30 seconds at first, then 15, stir and check to see if they are melted yet. One bag took around 30-40 seconds to melt.

Frost them using the melted Starburst® Minis Unwrapped. You have to work fast or the Starburst® Minis Unwrapped will harden. I had to keep reheating the bowl for 5-10 seconds in between frosting cookies.

Carefully insert a lollipop stick into the cookie. Voila! Flower cookies. Now, put them into your vase and you are all set.

I also frosted a few of the sugar cookies with white frosting and then decorated flowers on them using the Skittles. These were a hit and so adorable.

Because the M&M’s® Plain 42 oz. bag is a staple in our house, I knew I had to include them in our party. Since it was going to be so nice out and we had already picked up the SNICKERS® Ice Cream Bars 6-pack and M&M’s® Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches 6-pack, I figured I would just go with it. I picked up some vanilla and strawberry flavored Greek yogurt. Using some plastic cups, I put M&M’s in the bottom of the cup, poured in some of the yogurt, and repeated this a few times. Then I placed a popsicle stick in it. These delicious yogurt M&M’s pops were a crowd favorite.

I didn’t stop there though. Using the Dr Pepper® Cherry 2-Liters and a bag of Cherries, I made some more frozen pops. The sweet flavor was so refreshing in the hot sun.

No party is complete without some sliced veggies, so we sliced up some carrots and celery, wrapped them in some burlap ribbon and tied them shut with twine. They looked adorable.

Taking a napkin, wrapping it around the silverware, a scrap of red and white checkered fabric around it and tying it with some twine created the perfect picnic look for the silverware.

Even the water bottles got a makeover. You can grab the free printable below for water bottle labels to match your picnic party decor. Throw in some meat, cheese, buns and a few bags of chips and your are sure to have everybody stopping by for seconds.

I think my favorite part was the party favors. Using some small picnic baskets and adding a label to it with the message “Hope you have a basket of fun” and adding a scrap of red and white checkered fabric to it made for some fun, decorative party favors. We filled them with the Juicy Fruit Starburst® Cherry Gum – 3 pack and the Juicy Fruit Starburst® Strawberry Gum – 3 pack along with some of the Starburst Minis unwrapped. The labels were a favorite and after the party became stickers for everybody to stick on each other. My family is a hoot! Print out your labels at the bottom of the page.

Our PICNIC banner made it clear to anybody else what we were doing and it is really easy to make. You already have the twine from wrapping the silverware and veggies. String some of it up above your party table. Print out the free printable below, trim it down to triangles, and tape it on the twine.

My favorite was sitting down on a large picnic blanket with the family to eat some lunch before we started playing games. It reminded me of being a kid again.

Our party was a hit, the weather was fantastic and we even had a few hundred games of bags {I was a winner — woo-hoo}. For more fun recipes from todays party, stay tuned later this week.