Basket of Fun
Tips for Creating a Fabulous Picnic with Your Family
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini
Q: Dear April Masini,
Summer is here and I have been spending a fortune entertaining my kids. Water parks, amusement parks, mini-golfing...the list goes on. I've been trying to think of some fun summer activities that they won't roll their eyes at and that won't drain my bank account. Do you have any tips?
Sincerely,
Hot and Broke
A:
Dear Hot and Broke,
One word: picnic! Take your family outdoors for a summer meal!
Wraps are winning when it comes to sandwiches!
* The reason is that they're new and trendy -- a nice twist on the old standby sandwich.
* They're also healthier since wraps have less sugar and flour in them than bread does.
* In addition, there are spinach wraps and tomato wraps that give you a little veggie in your bread, making the bread even more healthful.
* Lettuce wraps are even trendier when you serve thai or chinese food in lettuce cups or wrapped in lettuce making your food lo-calorie and highly inventive.
*Vegetable chips are the hip chip.
*Baked chips are even hipper than fried chips.
*Banana chips are great for those hikes before the picnic because they're such instant energy.
A jug of wine is so yesterday.
Wine boxes that come with a sippy straw have replaced splits and mini-splits of wine. For a romantic picnic twist that breaks the mold of the bottle and corkscrew, consider wine in kid-like boxes and mini-cans.
Listen up.
Then there's mood music. You don't need your own personal mariachi band or giant boom box to create a picnic mood. An MP3 player with an extra set of ear phones -- or even more romantic -- one ear bud for each of you -- will bring you and your picnic date closer, physically, and you'll share the same music and MP3 player and music.
Get off the picnic blanket
Bring a frisbee, a ball for catch, a kite, some knitting, checkers, scrabble and a pillow for a nap!
April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.
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