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How to Host a Luxury Picnic

Lauren Bongers

By Lauren Bongers
Published November 10, 2023

Today, luxury picnics are a popular party idea you can hire a local business to pull off. They’ll set up the picnic and prep food and beverages for your guests. But if you’re the entertaining type and want to execute the experience yourself, we have all the dining essentials and décor you need.

A burlap picnic blanket in grass with white plates, green cups, purple accents and fresh flowers.

Decide on a Location for Your Luxury Picnic

Although you might think of a park, beach or backyard for a picnic, there are plenty of places to set up a picnic, including indoors. A dining room or living room is the perfect option – and you won’t have to worry about inclement weather or bugs.

If you choose to picnic inside, be sure to clear a large enough space in the dining or living room to make way for a table, or blanket, and seating. Be mindful of low-hanging light fixtures so guests won’t bump their heads.

Choose the Perfect Table

A white accent blanket on top of a burlap rug being used as a picnic blanket.

The centerpiece of a luxury picnic is the table. Because you’ll have seating on the ground, you’ll want to opt for a table that’s low in height like a coffee table. For ease of transportation and setup, you may want to choose a lightweight material like plastic, wicker or rattan. If you plan on hosting the picnic at home, you could use an existing coffee table.

Not sure you need a table for picnic-style dining? You don’t. For simplicity, you can always skip the table and lay down a few throw blankets, or even a pretty rug, to set the scene.

Add Stylish Seating

An assortment of cream, blue, green, and floral pillows around a luxuy picnic setup.

To make sitting on the ground a bit more comfortable, consider adding pillows or cushions around your picnic spread. We have a variety of pillow and cushion options to complement any aesthetic including luxurious velvet pillows, bohemian picks, textured options, casual striped pillows and more.

Dress Up the Table With Dining Accessories

A table setting including a woven charger plate, white plate, green napkin, and gold-tone utensils.

The dining accessories you need depend on the type of food you’re serving. Some hosts prefer to serve a smorgasbord of snacks to choose from like a cheeseboard or dessert spread. For finger foods, you won’t need to worry about providing eating utensils. But you could also opt for a multi-course meal if that’s the direction you’d like to go. Either way, we have all the dining essentials you need to set the table including melamine plates and bowls, drinkware, napkins, cheeseboards, serving trays and more.

Keep Food and Drink Chilled

A person pouring a glass of prosecco into a glass flute.

There are several ways to keep food and drinks fresh outdoors. Store food and beverages in a portable cooler until it’s ready to be served. If you’re serving wine, place the bottle in a marble wine chiller. Another fun drink idea is to make a pre-made beverage like lemonade, tea, a punch or mimosas, and serve it up in a stylish beverage dispenser.