Picnic season has arrived! With such a short window to embrace the simple pleasure of a relaxed outdoor meal, having a plan is key! This summer, take the food-filled festivities beyond the basket and level up your picnic game to reflect the things you love to do.
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Start With Foodie Fun In The Kitchen
For those who enjoy cooking, planning and preparing a picture-perfect picnic is the biggest part of the fun. Use your upcoming picnic as an opportunity to experiment with new recipes, try some new ingredients and discover a few new local stops for stocking up on groceries, cookware and other foodie finds. Here are some ideas:
- With over 50 vendors, Hamilton Farmers’ Market offers one-stop shopping for picnic season’s freshest produce.
- Read this article for picnic ingredient shop suggestions in Georgetown, Glen Williams, and Milton.
- Can’t-miss foodie favourites in Dundas include Picone Fine Food, The Keeping Room, Cumbrae’s and Weir’s Lane Lavender and Apiary.
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Give Yourself Permission to Press Pause On Food Prep
Use a picnic as an opportunity to take a day off from kitchen duties. Order takeout from a restaurant you haven’t enjoyed yet, head to a nearby park and dig in. Try these Hamilton Halton Brant restaurants serving up tasty picnic-approved takeout:
- In Oakville, Sandwich Society offers tasty Grazing Boxes, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
- In Hamilton, Radius has a delicious farm-to-table takeout menu that includes decadent dessert jars in fun flavours like Raspberry Beret, Pineapple Carrot Cake and Chocolate Cupcake.
- Fried chicken is the ultimate picnic main, and Burlington’s The Coop makes everything in-house with only the highest quality ingredients. Don’t forget to add on some delicious Deep Fried Deviled Eggs for a retro side with a twist.
- Get ten more ideas for tasty Hamilton Halton Brant takeout options in this article.
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Sink Into Some New Scenery
Finding a new destination to enjoy a picnic is an easy way to escape for a few hours. Fortunately, we’re spoiled for choice in Hamilton Halton Brant. For an even longer list of options, skip the places with traditional picnic tables and visit somewhere that will allow you to spread out your picnic blanket anywhere you like!
- This article offers eight suggestions for picnic-friendly natural escapes showcasing the stunning scenery of the Niagara Escarpment, Bruce Trail and Grand River.
- For stop suggestions perched atop the stretch of the Niagara Escarpment that runs parallel to the QEW from Hamilton to Niagara, check out this article.
- For picnic stop suggestions that incorporate outdoor art displays in Burlington, Brant and Hamilton, read this article.
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Treat Your Picnic Crew To A Few Fun Extras
Delicious food and stunning scenery are just two-thirds of the equation for creating the perfect picnic. Adding some fun accessories, creature comforts, and outdoor games is what transforms your picnic from a tasty outdoor meal into a whole afternoon or evening of fun. Great Hamilton Halton Brant shops for sourcing fun little extras include:
- Oakville’s Lakeside Livin’ has adorable paper napkins, cute canvas totes and cooler bags, and outdoor food screens.
- Centro Garden in Burlington is a hub for design, style and inspiration where you’ll find all kinds of terrific picnic trimmings, like beautiful linens for staging your picnic spread to fun games to keep the conversation flowing after your outdoor meal.
- In Paris, Piper and Oak is a Canadian lifestyle boutique with a beautifully curated selection of items. Picnic-perfect picks include lovely cheese cutters, beverage shakers, and straw market baskets.
- Hamilton’s Ottawa Street Shopping District is loaded with inspiration for creating an Instagram-worthy picnic spread like beautiful discount fabrics that will serve as a beautiful picnic blanket and fabulously fun vintage accessories.
What other ways will you be upping your picnic game this summer? Share your ideas with us by tagging your pictures on social media with #stayandplayinhhb.
