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Picnics are a wonderful way to enjoy summer. What isn't so wonderful is enduring the bugs that insist on inviting themselves to the party. As soon as you set everything up, ants start carrying away your food and bees start buzzing around your plate. It's enough to make any picnic lover pack up and go home. Thankfully there are a few... more »
People like to get out and enjoy the great outdoors as soon as warm weather hits. One of the most popular ways to this is to have a family picnic. It's the perfect way to connect with people that you may not have seen since the holidays. Best of all, this entertainment option can be extremely affordable if you know how to save money.... more »
Teddy Bear Picnic Day --- a popular children's holiday in Canada, Europe, and Australia --- is held every year on July 10. On this day children and parents have tea parties with their teddy bears in parks or kindergarten and preschool classrooms. However, even though many people know that these adorable picnics are part of a... more »
There are few things more enjoyable than sitting outside on a deck or patio. With the use of an outdoor heating source, you can transform a chilly open-air experience into a cozy oasis—extending the use of your deck or patio beyond the warm summer months. Before you head out to your local home improvement store, though, read... more »
Whether it's a romantic interlude or a fun outing with the family, carry everything you need for your picnic in a basket specifically suited to hold all of your favorite foods and beverages as well as utensils and glassware. more »
The summer heat, fireworks, and dad firing up the grill in his ridiculous apron can mean only...
Even master chefs need a night off. These easy recipes make getting dinner to the table a snap....
Nice weather can lead people to desire to have their meals out of doors. These meals spent under the sky are called picnics. Picnics are a way to... more »
Company picnics can be a lot of fun. Employees get to socialize with each other while enjoying food in a fun and friendly environment. Many... more »
Picnics offer an opportunity for friends, family or coworkers to get together, socialize and eat together. To add some additional entertainment to... more »
Nothing says summer like packing up the picnic basket and heading out to the woods or a park. Summer picnics are fun for kids and adults alike.... more »
Reunions are a great way to see old friends, former classmates, or family members. However, organizing a reunion is never easy, so if you are in... more »
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors (al fresco or en plein air), ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance, and usually in summer. Descriptions of picnics show that the idea of a meal that was jointly contributed and was enjoyed out-of-doors were essential to a picnic from the early 19th century.Mary Ellen W. Hern, "Picnicking in the Northeastern United States, 1840-1900", Winterthur Portfolio 24.2/3 (Summer - Autumn 1989), pp. 139-152.
Picnics are often family-oriented but can also be an intimate occasion between two people, or a large get-together such as company picnics and church picnics. It is sometimes combined with a cookout, usually a form of barbecue; either charbroil-grilling, griddling, braising (by combining a charbroil grill with a broth-filled pot), or a combination of all of the above.
On romantic and family picnics a picnic basket and a blanket (to sit or recline on) are usually brought along. Outdoor games or some other form of entertainment are common at large picnics.
Some picnics are a potluck, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table for all to share. When the picnic is not also a cookout, the food eaten is rarely hot, instead taking the form of deli sandwiches, finger food, fresh fruit, salad, cold meats and accompanied by chilled wine or champagne or soft drinks.
Etymology
The first usage of the word is traced to the 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Française de Ménage—which mentions pique-nique as being of recent origin; it marks the first appearance of the word in print. The term was used to describe a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. For long a picnic retained the connotation of a meal to which everyone con read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picnic
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