way to spend some quality family timetogether. And it's a fun way to do something special when aholiday is out of the question. Even though it doesn't take upmuch time, it can be just as meaningful as a holiday. I canremember each picnic our family has had - and I know thechildren do too. The best thing about having a picnic, is it's easy to have apicnic that suits your needs. If you only have an hour to spare,you can make a quick snack and take it down to the local park orriver. If you want to make a day of it, packs lots of food andlots of games and pick a place that is good for a walk or aswim. And don't forget to take a camera, so you don't miss outon your "holiday shots". If money isn't an issue, pack some special food that you don'tgenerally eat. Splurge on the kinds of foods that you generallypass by in the supermarket. If you're on a budget, then limitthe fo...

...ods to less expensive ones. Enhance the experience bycooking some food with your children beforehand. Picnics can also be a great time to socialise with other peoplewithout having to spend a lot of time preparing your house ortrying to impress. Ask people to bring along their own picniclunch or a meal or snack to share. On the subject ofsocialising, I've found picnics are a fun way to have a cheapstress-free birthday party. Children seem to have more fun in anoutdoor environment and there's very little cleaning up to doafterwards. Our family has special picnic spots that we go to often. Theyfeel like our own special places. But we also like to try outnew spots. There are so many places you can go to have a picnic;neighbouring towns, spots by a river, playgrounds, historicbuildings, botanic gardens, national parks. When all you need isa picnic rug and a hamper full of food, there are tons ofpossibilities. I could have a picnic at a new spot every weekand still never run out of places to go. We also have special days when we have picnics. Boxing Day is agood day for us to have a picnic. It gets rid of some of thoseChristmas leftovers. However, I do live in Australia and theweather might be a bit better for a picnic on Boxing Day for methan it is for you. A picnic can become a pain if you are notprepared. Check and double-check your food hamper. Do you haveenough plates, knives, serving spoons, napkins? Make sure youhave a picnic rug if you need one. Check the weather and beprepared. Take sunscreen, hats and aeroguard if necessary, orwarm coats if the weather is cooler. If there's a possibility ofrain go somewhere where you can eat under shelter. Think about ways you can make your picnic even more special.Take a pretty tablecloth, pretty napkins and a nice centrepiece.Write notes to your family, telling them how much you love themand love spending time with them, and place them under theirplates. Include a favourite food for each family member. Pack asurprise that nobody knows is in there. Create your own picnictraditions. How about a special song you sing on the way to thepicnic? My sons and me sing a song about a bumpy road thatalways has everybody in giggles. Create a picnic king or queen.Make special hats that you only wear for picnics. Create a rulethat everybody going on a picnic has to wear something blue orred. If everybody is starting to get stressed or irritated, thenit's time to rethink what you're doing. If you hate cooking,don't feel like you have to cook food for the picnic. Buy itinstead. Don't make everybody play a certain game if nobodyreally likes it. The picnic should reflect what your familylikes doing. Remember that the idea of a picnic is to bond as afamily and have fun....