How to Host an Indoor Picnic by Esme Carr

1: Get everyone to bring an item of food and a drink

Not one wants to have the stress of having to organise an entire gathering unless of course that's your thing. Delegate, delegate and delegate some more. Get everyone to bring their favourite dish and split the categories into snack bits, sandwiches, desserts etc. That way it lessens the burden and everyone will definitely have an item or two that they enjoy. Plus everyone gets to try something new from other people. You could even theme it and have people create dishes from all around the world.

2: Prep items the night before

You can safely prepare many salads, sandwiches, soups and whatever you fancy the night before. Also as you have the comfort of having your picnic indoors it means you can have a variety of hot and cold foods without having to worry about a party of ants trying to apprehend your cherry bakewells. You can even do things like make grown up ice lollies out of all your favourite drinks since you won’t have to worry about getting to your destination and finding all your chilled goods melted into a puddle.

3: Get a playlist together

With so many music streaming apps now available on the market, you can get everyone to add their favourites to a playlist creating hours of music without anyone having to stick to their phones finding new tracks. Or your best friend deciding to hijack the playlist and play nothing but sad love songs... Even better, get a YouTube playlist together. Grab some colour changing lights and have a disco.

4: Board Games and other entertainment is a must

There are so many games out there that you’ll definitely be able to find something that everyone will want to play. Just a word of warning, make sure everyone understands and agrees to the rules before you start. There’s nothing like a disagreement over the rules of scrabble to bring a night to an abrupt end.

5: Make it an indoor picnic cinema

You can buy mini projectors that connect to your phones nowadays but to keep costs down, borrow one from a friend or hire one and make it a themed night. You can even get everyone to dress up as their favourite movie character or a host a trivia quiz relating to their favourite film.

6: Party bags are not just for children

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A cute little cupcake, a thank you note and a polaroid picture of the night. Printing group pictures and polaroids is a great way to bulk-up a goody bag. Create a group on a picture sharing app and have a number of cameras dotted around. After the event these can be shared with everyone who attended to create a lasting memory of your picnic.

7: Atmosphere and accessories are everything

You really don’t need to break the bank to create a really nice environment and vibe. Get a cute bedspread and put it on the floor. Chuck a load of pillows and cushions on it. Light a few candles. You can even go on YouTube and find atmospheric videos of rain pouring or fires crackling in the background.

8: Create a kid's corner

Picnic with family often means the children and younger relatives can also get together and have their own little party. Bonus being no babysitters need to be hired and you get to stay up later with your friends. You can even set up tents indoors for your younger kids to be entertained. Allowing you to keep a watch on them and while still partaking in the fun. The next morning you could even have a breakfast picnic. Think fruit platters, warm croissants fresh out of the oven (served with some Quorn Vegetarian Ham Slices) are a joy for anyone to wake up to!

9: Virtual picnic

Young children, work commitments, distance and the busy nature of life means that we can’t always find time to gather together in the same place at the same time. So there is nothing wrong with having a zoom picnic together. Family across the world in other time zones? They can have a breakfast picnic whilst you have an evening one!

10: Make it meat-free

Times have changed and vegan food has made leaps and bounds with new products coming out almost weekly to the market. The list is endless of all the amazing food you can make using Quorn products. Whether an indoor picnic or BBQ, There are so many options and meals to be made so nobody misses out.

• Quorn Vegan Smoky Ham Free Slices - Fantastic for packed lunch
• Quorn Vegan Chicken Free Slices - Great rolled up as a little snack or sliced up and added to salads.
• Quorn Vegan Pepperoni Slices - Great for making pizza with the kids
• Quorn Quarter Pounders - Chuck them on the BBQ

Blog by Esme Carr