With the summer months comes warmer temperatures and hours of glorious sunshine – or so we hope! – and that means getting out in the garden, enjoying the space it has to offer. This becomes all the more enjoyable with the comfort of one of our garden furniture sets.
Spending quality time with the kids in the garden is ideal for the summer months stretching out before you. There are many outdoor activities, from messy play to trampolining, that are suitable. And one great idea is cooking and eating outdoors with your kids.
Eating Outdoors
Eating together as a family brings many benefits. But preparing and cooking together is also a great bonding activity.
It is also a great way to teach kids where their food comes from and encourage them to try new things. Here’s some ideas.
Deconstructed Cheese Burger
Kids love burgers but the same old thing over and over again gets boring. Encourage your children to look at food differently with this deconstructed cheeseburger salad;
- Enough burgers per person – grill or oven bake. Or, BBQ them. Whilst they cook, make the salad…
You will need:
- Salad leaves – you choose! Watercress adds a peppery note, as do rocket leaves to a salad. Iceberg lettuce is great for any salad base and is light and refreshing. Chop and tear the leaves to create a luscious green bed of leaves.
- Salad ingredients – add anything you like from chopped tomatoes to ribbons or carrot and kernels of sweetcorn.
- Cheese slices or cubes – add these to your salad
Once the burgers are cooked, chop them into cubes and add to the salad. You can eat cooked burgers cold so you can bake the burgers earlier on in the day and make the salad for lunch or tea.
Pitta sandwiches
Another quick and easy lunch is to make your own sandwiches and enjoy a picnic in the garden.
You will need:
- Fresh bread or ring the changes with pitta bread pockets.
- Instead of butter, use a light cheese spread and have a range of options for your kids to try.
- Grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives… you name it, entice your kids to try it. Include meats and fish, like tuna or smoked mackerel for a zap of flavour.
Alfresco Dining
Eating outdoors is such a wonderful way to enjoy the sunshine, especially with one of our beautiful garden furniture sets. Of course, if you don’t have garden furniture, you can also enjoy a picnic on the grass.
Get your kids to choose their favourite spot in the garden and set up your picnic or garden furniture there.
Bring out a blanket, cutlery and your favourite board games and enjoy an outdoor afternoon.
To encourage more alfresco dining, why not invest in high-quality outdoor seating and garden furniture sets.
It’s important to buy garden furniture that fits the needs of your family but bear in mind the dimensions of the garden too.
A small garden table works well for smaller gardens but also for creating a zoned dining area too.
Bistro garden furniture – available in different colours and seating formats – are ideal for any garden space, perfect for impromptu brunch.
Don’t forget to accessorise the outdoor dining area too. Solar lights are ideal for adding notes of interest (and much safer on an outdoor bistro set than candles!) and some can be incredibly bright too. Or enjoy plants in pots and other garden accessories on the garden ladder shelving.
Explore our full outdoor furniture range and get inspired!