The single most important item to ensure a perfect picnic is a good food chest or cooler. If you only go on picnics for two, a large cooler is probably unnecessary and cumbersome. If you usually picnic with a large group, you may want to invest in a couple coolers of different sizes that will easily accommodate varying shapes of food. It's also helpful to be able to separate the cold dishes from the warm ones. Different-sized packets of frozen blue ice kept in your freezer will allow you to picnic at a moment's notice.

Here's a very handy tip: Make a menu ahead of time and keep it taped to your refrigerator. Check off each dish as you pack it into your basket. There's nothing worse than arriving with everything except that one important sauce or salad dressing.

Depending on your mood and the menu, you can take as little paraphernalia or as much as you like.

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