Healthy Family Healthy Budget - Summer Edition

What Are Picnics so Great?
I LOVE picnics, packing up the picnic basket,
finding a great location and sitting down together
for family time. I really do think that picnics are the
best family time activity; you can do picnics for
breakfast, lunch or dinner. At this time of year a
picnic dinner at carols by candlelight it a great way
to spend time together as a family; a picnic lunch at
the beach or the park are great ideas to fill in some
of those long days during the summer school
holidays when ‘I’m bored’ is said far too often.
Here are my top reasons why I love picnics:
• The Whole Family Gets Outdoors – fresh
air, vitamin D, fresh air. These are just a few
of the benefits of getting outdoors for a picnic.
Fresh air invigorates you and leaves you
feeling more energised.
• Healthy Eating Habits – Food that is
prepared at home is more likely to be healthy
than the majority of fast food options. By
packing your own picnic food and snacks you
have control over what is being eaten by your
family. You can make your own meat and
salad sandwiches, grab a BBQ chook and
have it with salad. Take home made popcorn,
fruit and homemade healthier cupcakes for
snacks. The fun of a picnic isn’t always the
food, it is the joy of eating outside the norm of
the dining table.
• Gets You Active – a great family tradition to
start when out on picnics is to play sports or
games. Whether your family’s chosen sport is
cricket, soccer, AFL, league or even tug of
war; these games will get the whole family
moving (and let’s face competition is rife in
families). Keep it clean and fun though and
fair for little ones. Play these games before
your meal so everyone works up a good
appetite and then take something like a bean
bag toss game for after. Visiting a park or
beach that has a playground is also a good
way of getting the family moving; little ones
can have fun playing on the equipment; if the
older kids and grown-ups want something a
bit more involved, create an obstacle course
and do timed runs.
• Happy Families – eating a meal outdoors is a
natural mood booster, enjoying the sunshine
and fresh air will put everyone in a good mood
and leaving happier.
• Family Bonding Time – spending time with
family is really important and in todays society
of long work hours, after school activities and
homework some families don’t get to spend
all that much ‘quality’ time together. A picnic
is a great way to spend time together as a
family and build stronger bonds, love and
feelings of belonging.
• Budget Friendly - Picnics are great for the
budget too; you can take all your food and
drinks with you so you aren’t buying anything
while you are out. You can visit a free venue
(beaches and parks for example), and take
some fun games, balls with you and enjoy an
entirely free fun day out.
Article by Katrina Gee of Healthy Family Healthy
Budget