This post is about everything you need to plan a picnic & painting night at home & switch up your day-to-day routine!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my content & family.
Weeknights tend to run together at our house. Make a quick dinner, ask the notorious question “what do you want to watch”, clean the kitchen, repeat. You know the feeling… When you’re stressed with a million things on your plate, it can feel like a mountain to try to plan anything during the week.
That’s where I come in! Each week I post the ultimate guide for everything you need to “plan” the perfect weeknight in. My goal is to take all the mental lifting off of you, so that you can spend a weeknight connecting with someone you love!
This week we’re celebrating warmer weather by getting outside! It’s picnic season which is my absolute favorite. I kept it classic with this week’s picnic & paired it with some easy & affordable activities. Check out the sections below for everything you need to know about planning a picnic & painting night at home!
1. Picnic & Painting Night At Home Materials
My go-to picnic necessities.
- Picnic Basket – We use this one from amazon! It has amazing space, the cutest print, & looks so classic.
- Picnic Blanket – Obsessed with this large one, it’s perfect for groups. Would be great for a beach day too! Our picnic basket comes with one.
- Wine/Large Drink Tote – We use this one for picnics & when we bring wine to friend’s homes! It fits 2 bottles of wine or large sparkling water perfectly.
- Mini Canvas & Easels – We stopped by the dollar tree for ours!
- Paint & Paint Brushes – Again, we hit up the dollar tree. If you don’t want to go to a store, these are a great option for affordability.
- Portable Speaker – You can play off your phone too! My fav is this option from Bose.
Follow me on TikTok and Instagram for more #WNI content!
2. Picnic Provisions: Food & Drink Suggestions
In my mind, a picnic wouldn’t be complete without sandwiches. We opted for easier food options this week because we have been beyond busy. If you’re looking for quick & simple, here’s what was on our menu.
A Simple Picnic Menu
- Sandwiches.
- Mini-Charcuterie Board For 2. My formula for a board that doesn’t go overboard for 2: 2 hard cheeses, 1 soft cheese, 1 fruit, 1 nut, 2 cracker varieties, 2 meats.
- Salad. We had leftover salad from lunch, so I packed that up.
- Pre-made Desserts. We opted for grocery store cheesecake & they tasted even better knowing they saved me 2+ hours & the realization that I’m not a world class baker.
- Smoked Rosemary Lemon Elderflower Mocktail. Super simple to make ahead of time. Here’s how I make ours.
If you’re wanting something that’s a bit more elevated & don’t mind the extra cooking time, this was the other menu I debated on.
An Elevated Picnic Menu
- Chicken Caprese Paninis
- Bruschetta Dip Style with Crostinis
- Burrata Peach Summer Salad
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Rosemary Lemon Elderflower Mocktail
3. Connection Building Convo Prompts
After a long day at work, it can feel laborious to be the catalyst for a good conversation even when you’d love to have one. Below are some convo starters to pair with this weeknight-in.
- If you only had one meal left, what would it be?
- If you could go on a picnic anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
- Would you describe yourself as artistic? Why or why not?
- What is one thing you would consider “art”, that other people might not?
- Do you feel like we slow down enough during the week? If not, how could we more?
4. Setting Up The Picnic & Painting Night At Home
Prep:
- Put together all the non-food items in the morning.
- Complete any food prep as early as possible. (Only foods that won’t go soggy AKA no sammies)
Set-Up:
- Pack up your picnic basket with all your cold items.
- Head out to your backyard, a local park, or to your living room if you want!
- Cozy up your space with pillows & blankets.
- Lay out your food & your painting supplies.
During:
- Listen to your favorite playlist or an audiobook. We listened to modern instrumental music & it gave all the bridgerton vibes.
- When painting, we chose to stick with a simple prompt that wasn’t too intimidating & felt more fun. We chose “something outside that we could see”. Steal that, paint something that represents your favorite thing about the other person, or go in with no plan. 🙂
- Enjoy your food, painting & good convo!
Notes
As always, make this weeknight-in idea your own! Add to it, skip stuff, whatever feels right for you. Whether you head out to your backyard like us, someplace local, or picnic in your living room, I hope you have an amazing weeknight-in!
If you decide to try out this weeknight-in idea, please tag me (@ahousetohomey) in your posts! I love seeing everything you guys are doing!
Have a great week & happy intentional connecting!
Leave a Reply