Everything You Need for an (Actually) Enjoyable Beach Picnic

Welcome to Beach Week, a celebration of the best place on earth.

What feeling does the phrase "beach picnic" bring about within you? Is it that of excitement—the thrill of imagining a romantic champagne toast over an expertly prepared cheese board, while watching the sun set over the ocean? Or is it that of dread—the pain of imagining unintentionally crunchy sandwiches and sticky children shooing away various insects, as the ocean breeze blows the contents of your entire blanket into the sand?

Both feelings are valid, and both scenarios are correct: beach picnics can either be a successful delight or a horror show from which you may never recover. To help you inch a bit closer to that first scenario, we’ve gathered up a few tools and tricks to ensure beach picnic success. So plan accordingly, have fun, and do all you can to consume slightly less sand.

Get Your Picnic Surface Right

Surf Sheet

How committed are you to keeping sand off of your towel? Because the "Surf Sheet," which dubs itself the "ultimate sand free beach blanket," is made for people dedicated to the cause. The blanket is weighted down by beanbags in each of its corners, and features a sturdy upright "sand guards" all along its perimeter, made to block any sand that might think of creeping in. It might feel a bit extreme, but sometimes extreme measures need to be taken.

Beach Towel Stakes

Shoes and other personal belongings never really suffice in keeping down the corners of a beach towel or picnic blanket. These stakes, which clamp onto the corners of your towel and pierce into the sand, will keep your towel from flying up, inviting in sand, and tossing the contents of your cheese plate every which way.

Portable Folding Wine and Champagne Picnic Table

For those who are looking to go the romantic route, this portable folding table has slots made for holding glasses that don’t interfere much with the table’s surface area and leave your hands free. Perfect for a little snack and a little drink while doing the macarena.

Outdoor Table in a Bag

For those looking for something a bit larger and higher, this outdoor table comes disassembled in an easy-to-carry bag. It’s easy to dress up with a cute little table cloth or runner, too, if you’re looking for a more stylish picnic.

Transporting and Serving

Picnic Backpack

This is basically a Swiss Army Knife of a picnic backpack. It comes with four sets of flatware and plates, four wine glasses, a cheese knife, a wine opener, a salt and pepper shaker, and a cutting board. It’s also insulated, and comes with a detachable waterproof pouch to put ice in, or whatever. And a picnic blanket! That’s more stuff than I had at my first post-college apartment.

Wicker Cooler Picnic Basket

If you’re looking to be painfully cute with your picnic, this little insulated wicker picnic basket will keep your food at the correct temperature, and comes with a dining set for two.

Yeti 12 Soft Cooler

"Yeti is my boyfriend. Yeti is a god, Yeti is the wind in my hair on the weekends…" That’s Taylor Swift singing a parody song about Yeti. And she’s right to do it! The study Yeti cooler is for the professional type of picnic host, who wants to be sure all of their food and drinks remain cold, safe, tidy, and unspoiled. It’s super study and the best option if your primary concern is insulation.

Leak-Proof Food Storage Containers

When transporting food to the beach, leak-proof is the name of the game. You don’t want to show up and have not only no edible onion dip, but also a backpack full of loose, now-inedible onion dip. Get a couple leak-proof containers for all your spillables.

Reusable Food Storage Bags

And for your dry snacks and pre-cut veggies, etc., there’s reusable storage bags.

Airtight Pitcher

Can you sense a theme? Yes, we’re doing our best to manage spillage here, and this airtight, spill-proof pitcher will let you sneakily transport a pre-batched cocktail (or non-sneakily transport a pre-batched mocktail) of your choosing.

Beach Sand Coaster Cup

These little coaster cups are handy for holding beverages, but also for holding whatever else you don’t want to set down on the sand—sunglasses, your phone, sunscreen, your wallet, your magazine. Plus they’re cute.

The Picnic: Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket

The Picnic is the perfect book from which to gain inspiration for what to serve, and how to serve it, at your beach picnic. Inside you’ll find helpful tips and tricks and thoughtful recipes, plus—and maybe most worthwhile—a few handy ways to sneak in alcohol.

Keep the Sun at Bay 

Pop-Up Tent

One thing that can really kill a beach picnic is a lack of shelter from the blazing hot sun. A pop-up tent can provide a guaranteed sun break, which can be particularly important for little kids.

Cabana

Or maybe you’re more of a cabana type? This luxurious option, while portable and lightweight, will still obviously require a bit more effort to transport and set up. But maybe you have a friend who owes you a favor?

Typology Face and Body Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a nonnegotiable at this point in human history, both for your face and your body. Typology’s sunscreens will provide you with the sun protection and hydration you need, plus they’ll provide you with the ability to say, "Oh, my sunscreen? It’s French." (Typology is French.)

Good Vibes Only

Cosmic Rainbow Towel

You need a cheerful towel to remember that life can be beautiful even if your beach picnic ends up sucking. This one from Bathing Culture is beautiful and happy.

Folding Outdoor Chair

Speaking of beautiful and happy, this folding outdoor chair from Schoolhouse will make it difficult not to have a good beach day. How can you have a bad beach day when you’re sitting in this joyful little chair? Come on.

Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker

No one single item will enhance the vibe of a beach picnic greater than the portable bluetooth speaker. Be the perfect host, or the friend who saves the day.

Wet Wipes

If you learn nothing else from this shoppable list of items that might make your beach picnic more enjoyable, please learn this: wet wipes. Wet wipes, wet wipes, wet wipes. Wet wipes. Wet wipes. You need to bring wet wipes. Wet wipes.

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Related Reading:

Getting to the Beach Is Half the Fun