Don’t try to re-create a recent dinner party success at a picnic. Food that looks great when prepared at home may not travel well, or be the type of food that’s easy to eat sitting on a blanket with a plastic knife and fork. 

Finger foods work best – the less need for cutlery the better. 

It’s also worth remembering that picnics are (hopefully!) sunny occasions, and chilled foods will go down well with fellow picnickers. Don’t serve hot food - it’s just not worth that hassle.

Anything people can eat with their hands is great for picnics. Mini samosas, olives, crisps, fruit, Scotch eggs, French bread with humus, tzatziki and taramasalata for dips. A good deli counter at your local supermarket is a god send for any picnic. Cold meats and cheeses are other winners. Although you’ll need knives for cutting and spreading, they’re filling and easy to eat.

Pasta, couscous and rice salads work better than traditional leafy dishes as they’re much easier to eat. They’re also simple to put together at home the night before. 

Half the fun of a picnic is sharing the food, so if there are lots of you meeting up, get everyone to bring one specific thing, put everything in the middle and tuck in.

Make sure you have lots of soft drinks. It’s all too easy to get dehydrated without realising it if you spend the day out in the sun. Fresh fruit is also a good idea to help keep everyone hydrated. The risk is obviously so much greater if you’re drinking alcohol too. 

Rather than use ice-packs for your cool box, pop a few bottles of water in the freezer the night before. This way you can have ice cold water throughout the day. Also, get some plastic individual ice cube bags, this way you’ll have grass and sand-free ice for drinks and you can keep your cool box chilled at the same time. 

We all remember that sinking feeling at school when, starving hungry, you pull out your sandwich at lunchtime only to find a soggy mess of tomato, bread triangles and what looks like iron filings from the bottom of your school bag. Enter, Tupperware…

If you’ve got food that isn’t very robust, make sure it’s protected en route to the park or beach. Keep salad ingredients separate to stop things getting soggy or drying out and opt for crusty bread which is more resistant to the odd bump or knock than your average soft loaf.

Having the right food containers also means you don’t need a heavy-duty, hard-cased cool box. A light-weight fold-away one will do just fine. 

Don’t be tempted by paper plates. They get soggy, create rubbish and bend in the middle when you’re trying to hold them in one hand and eat with the other. Plastic plates with a lip are light-weight and re-usable. Just pack enough for one per person and bring napkins to wipe if necessary. The same goes for cups and crockery.

Bring a cutting board and two good knives – you’ll be surprised how useful they will be.

Remember the two-hour rule. Two hours is the longest that fridge food should be left out for. Food poisoning is a guaranteed way to ruin any picnic.

Make sure any food that needs refrigerating stays in the cool box with the lid on when it’s not being used. It’s worth having a separate cool box for drinks as it’s likely this will be in continual use. 

Make sure you bring a big bottle of water with you. You can use this for drinking, washing sandy hands and rinsing plates and glasses.

Picnic blanket – ideally one with a waterproof underside. 

Disposable napkins – great for spills and wiping crockery and cutlery. 

Balls – even if you’re not bringing children on your picnic, these events more often than not end up in some sort of spontaneous play, normally involving a tennis or football. 

Folding chairs – they may seem like a cumbersome extra, but you’ll be fighting over a comfy seat after a few hours sitting with no back rest. 

First aid kit – be prepared to deal with bee stings, headaches, scrapes and heat rash.

Make sure you bring three plastic bags – one for recyclable waste, one for washing up and one to go straight in the bin. This will make life so much easier for you when you get home and start unpacking.