Picnic Table Ideas & Guides
Picnic tables, blankets, wicker baskets filled with tantalizing foods, and outdoor games: welcome to America's favorite outing. Picnics date back to medieval England, and usually involved elaborate dining for the upper classes. Picnics in 14th-century Europe featured hams, baked and roasted meats, and pastries. For hundreds of years, a picnic was referred to as a potluck at a common table - a picnic table.
The picnic experience was not necessarily an outdoor event until the mid 1800s. Today's picnics range from grilling hotdogs and burgers and dishing up potato salad and baked beans, to dining at elegant picnic tables with gourmet food and appetizer spreads and perhaps a favorite wine. So popular are 21st-century picnics that some are based on specific themes.
Picnic Table Materials
Picnic tables are a place to gather for outdoor meals, or for a drink with neighbors on a warm summer evening. A picnic table is a perfect place for messy kids' projects; afterwards, the mess can be hosed away. There's nothing more relaxing than sitting outdoors with a laptop or a good book, basking in the splendors of nature. These versatile tables come in a variety of materials, with one sure to fit your lifestyle.
Picnic Table Buying Guide
Packing up and transporting baskets of food is a practice that began in England in the 18th century; in the 19th century, an English society was formed solely to promote these social affairs where everyone brought food to pick at. Picnic tables have undergone numerous transformations in 300 years. Crude, temporary picnic tables have evolved into furniture as grand as the affair.
Picnic Table Care
Many of today's picnic tables need little or no maintenance to retain their beauty and dependability. Wood picnic tables have an unequaled beauty, but require a bit more care to ensure that the wood ages to perfection. A little common sense, and a bit of routine maintenance will keep any picnic table in top shape.
Picnic Table Features
As the economy tightens and people are staying home more, outdoor entertainment is on the rise. Families and friends are gathering around picnic tables to share food and conversation at a fraction of the price it costs to dine out or entertain formally. Shorter vacations closer to home are proving to be more relaxing than lengthy excursions. Folding and portable picnic tables are facilitating family fun options in these money-challenged times.