Thursday 11 August 2016

Summer outdoor dining experiences for all the family

I'm really hoping summer is going to show its face soon for a long stint. There are so many lovely ways to get the family together and enjoy dining al fresco. In our house food brings family together and creates memories so here are some of our favourite ways to dine outdoors.

1) Picnic
We adore picnics in our house. We always tend to have eyes too big for our bellies but isn't that what most of the fun is all about, preparing lots of food and nibbling as you please. We've enjoyed plenty of picnics in the garden this year and we have even had some in our living room as typically the great British weather doesn't always do what we want. 



I bought a fab picnic rucksack this year which has been invaluable for when the 4 of us are having a picnic away from home. It comes complete with plates, glasses and cutlery. I always pack a picnic rug to snuggle in to and our Messy Me Mat to sit on. It's ideal for picnics and outdoor use as it's wipeable meaning it's super easy to clean.


We like to make lots of different things for picnics such as sandwiches, veggie sticks, fruit, quiches etc. I use my Babymoov Babybowls for storing a lot of the food. They are so handy as they have lids, can be stacked and you can also write on them (which then washes off). Eva loves them and tends to fill them and pack them herself.




2) BBQ
Nothing says summer dining better than a BBQ. I'll admit, we haven't used ours as much as we'd have liked but again I think that's been down to the weather. Whenever we have had one it's something that all of us have enjoyed, even Ophelia. 
Luckily Ophelia loves finger food so she always seems to want whatever we have. She's tucked into hotdogs, burgers, meat and fish skewers and she is a huge fan of potato salad. If you're babies aren't onto a finger food stage you can simply make them a puree of whatever meat and salad/veg you are cooking.

3) Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea's are a tradition in our house. We really enjoy them. One thing we haven't done yet is an afternoon tea party at our house. We always have them at a hotel or restaurant. Fortunately, it is afternoon tea week so I am planning to do a surprise one for the girls in the garden on the weekend. 
Eva will love it. She loves anything that resembles a party so she will love having sandwiches and cakes in the garden. 
I'm thinking of doing soft cheese, cucumber and egg for the sandwich fillings and i'm even going to attempt to bake. I think i'll try and make some savoury muffins for Ophelia to eat. 
I'll just have to make sure she is wearing her Bibetta Bib to catch all her mess and protect her clothes. She loves to touch and feel everything and of course squish it everywhere, which we encourage.

4) Breakfast
We've had breakfast out in the garden a few times. I always find we have a better day if we start it outdoors and in the sun. It's a great way of waking yourself up. We've had French breakfasts with croissants, pastries, coffees and juice and we've also had American breakfasts with lots of pancakes. Both the girls love pancakes.

5) Camp Fire
One thing we are yet to try but is on our bucket list is to have a camp fire at night and toast some marshmallows and have hot chocolate. If the weather stays nice we are planning to camp in our garden at the weekend so we'll hopefully get a chance to do this over our fire pit.

6) Movie Night
Last on the list is to have an outdoor movie night. We have wooden sofas as our garden furniture and they are very comfy. We have snuggled under blankets and watched a movie on our iPad with popcorn and treats. The dream is to get a projector so that we can project a film onto one of the walls or fences. 
You can also try this if you have a big trampoline. Get yourself some sleeping bags, cushions and blankets and snuggle up together under the stars whilst watching your favourite family film. 

Do you do anything off our list of ideas? Have you got any other suggestions?

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19 comments

  1. This is a great list of things to do. I live afternoon tea too, but hadn't thought of having one at home. I'd love to have an outdoor movie night too x

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  2. When the weather is great we also eat most of our meals in the garden. Now where is that sun? ;) Hopefully it will be back soon.

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  3. We have been having lots of picnics in the house as the rain just hasn't stopped! I feel like here we haven't had a summer yet haha. If we had some sun we would have had a few BBQs

    Jordanne || Thelifeofaglasgowgirl.co.uk

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  4. Not had a picnic yet but we have had 2 BBQs now. Off to another today.

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  5. We have plenty of indoor picnics too, the kids think they're great! xx

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  6. We love a picnic in the garden. We have had lots since the beginning of the holidays, and on the gloomy days, the kids still love an indoor picnic. As long as the picnic blanket is out ... it's a picnic!

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  7. BBQ is my favourite option out of all of these. Although I really need to introduce the boys to toasted marshmallows - yum! The boys love to have a picnic, although they have been more indoor than out this year :( xxx

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  8. We love bbq, picnics and afternoon tea. We have indoor picnics too, its amazing how eating on a picnic blanket makes them eat so much better!! x

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  9. Eating Al fresco is literally our favourite pastime in the summer - picnics are always a popular choice especially with my eldest...as are bbq

    Laura x

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  10. Fab little list. We've yet to have a BBQ this year. Weather hasn't been all to great and when it has we've eaten out. We have pcnics in the park week. Kids love it!

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  11. Dining outside, whether it's a simple sandwich or a picnic is so lovely when we have the sun. A picnic rucksack is a great idea, I want one!

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  12. I absolutely love picnics! Everything tastes so much better when you are outside :)

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  13. I love all these ideas! We are off on a picnic next week. We havent had a BBQyet this year but are planning to in next couple of weeks. We have never had an outdoor movie night but would love to! We have recently moved house so have no ourdoor furniture yet but adding that to my list of things to do

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  14. I love eating outdoors. Whether it's at the table or on a picnic blanket, it's great fun with the kids! Cute pics! x

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  15. Oh, what a fabulous list. I LOVE the idea of a movie night. Snuggling up under the stars and watching our favourite movie. And camping in your garden and toasting marshmallows over your fire pit sounds ideal. We love picnics in our house. And we often have indoor and outdoor picnics. In fact, we have had a few this week already. That Messy Mat looks brilliant for a picnic. I always use a rug and it just ends up getting covered in grass, dirt and food and needs a good wash. Having a mat that you can wipe down sounds brilliant. Hugs Lucy xxxx

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  16. We love all of these thing too! Especially a picnic. We also bought a rucksack picnic set this year and it has been FAB. Ours came with a blanket that clips on the side too which has been so handy. xo

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  17. I do love a nice family picnic. We usually go to a National Trust place.

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  18. What great products and fab ways to enjoy the summer. Great post

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  19. kids go mad for picnics don't they, either indoor or outdoor! x

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