PICNICPLAN
Dine outdoors, done right — picnics, coolers, and al-fresco planning.
From packing the right amount of ice and food to building a packing list, sizing your blanket, planning portions, and timing your prep, PicnicPlan pairs free hands-on picnic calculators with practical guides and a richly illustrated museum. Plan smarter, eat better outdoors.
Picnic Tools & Calculators
Free tools for every picnic — cooler ice ratio calculator, food per guest calculator, packing list generator, blanket size calculator, portion planner, and timing & prep schedule.
Cooler Ice Ratio Calculator
Work out how much ice to pack against your food weight, the trip length, and the heat — plus how many standard bags of ice that means
Food Per Guest Calculator
Turn a headcount and a meal style into a total food weight and drink count to bring, scaled for kids and for how long the spread needs to last
Picnic Packing List Generator
Generate a categorised checklist scaled to your party size and occasion — casual picnic, beach picnic, or garden party, with kid and pet extras
Picnic Blanket Size Calculator
Turn a guest count into a recommended blanket size and rough dimensions, with extra room if you're setting the basket or cooler on the blanket itself
Portion Planner
Pick the dishes you're serving and get exactly how many sandwiches, cups of salad, or drinks to prepare for your adults and kids
Picnic Timing & Prep Schedule
Work backward from your eating time through drive time and every prep task, plus the general food-safety window once you've served
Picnics & Al Fresco Dining Museum
Wander an illustrated museum of eating outdoors — the culture and history of the picnic, the hampers and baskets carried to it, the park pavilions and bandstands built around it, and the garden parties and al fresco dining it grew into, each in its own gallery, so you can get to know the stories behind how we’ve gathered outdoors to eat for centuries.
Tour the museum →From the Journal
Fresh guides on food safety outdoors, packing and gear, menus and portions, picnic spots and etiquette, and garden-party entertaining.
How Much Ice to Pack in a Cooler for a Picnic
Most picnics fail on ice, not food. Here's the ice-to-food ratio experienced packers use, why block and cubed ice behave differently, and how to make a cheap cooler perform like an expensive one.
The 2-Hour Rule: Keeping Picnic Food Safe in the Heat
Perishable food left out too long is the single biggest food-safety risk at any picnic. Here's the standard 2-hour/1-hour food-safety guidance, why heat changes the math, and simple habits that make it easy to follow.
How Much Food to Bring for a Picnic, Per Person
Bringing too little food means a hungry afternoon; too much means waste and a heavier cooler than you needed. Here's a practical, per-person way to size a picnic spread for any group and meal style.
The Ultimate Picnic Packing Checklist
The things that ruin a picnic are almost never the food — they're the small items nobody remembers until they're missing. Here's a category-by-category checklist and the packing order that keeps the cooler working.
Choosing the Right Picnic Blanket Size
A blanket that's too small means elbows and knees off the edge; too large is awkward to fold and carry. Here's how much space a person actually needs, and how to size a blanket to your group.
Picnic Etiquette: Sharing Parks and Public Spaces
Parks are shared spaces, and a great picnic spot considers everyone else using it too. Here's practical etiquette for noise, space, cleanup, grills, and getting along with the other groups around you.
Keep Learning
Practical know-how on food safety outdoors, picnic gear and essentials, outdoor-dining traditions, and parks and green spaces — everything you need to plan a picnic or garden party with confidence.
Visit the Learn hub →