My Quarantine Picnic
So far throughout the #LWAStaycation series, we’ve talked a lot about what self-care is and how to take your self-care routine to the next level from a very general, high-level perspective. Now that we’ve covered the basic foundational principles of self-care, I want to dive deeper into what being intentional about your self-care, and in turn staycation, experiences looks like practically.
Throughout the remainder of the series, I will be sharing details on how I elevate my self-care experiences as well as how other community women do it too so that we can all learn some new tricks to get us right. First up, I’m sharing my quarantine picnic experience, and how I was able to accomplish it, with the help of friends, in a very locked down, privatized Lagos.
First let me just say that the lockdown picnic has been a growing trend especially for black women, and I was more than happy to hop on the bandwagon. There needs to be more examples of carefree black women living their best lives in diverse settings. And the “black woman connecting with nature” is definitely an image I love to see expand.
Just like with planning any regular group vacation, this picnic staycation required a lot of research, preplanning, and attention to detail. Luckily, I have friends who also enjoy exploring new ways to have fun, and with the lockdown reaching 5 months, we were all ready for a chance to take in fresh air.
The biggest challenge was finding a location. I am a beach babe, so my goal was to find a nice quiet beach to do this. Unfortunately, for as amazing a coastal town that Lagos could be, our beaches are just not easily accessible (this is a greater issue we may have to discuss down the road). Even pre-lockdown, the clean, safe beaches are either privatized or a boat ride away, which comes with a price tag, and the closer more publicly accessible beaches are dirty, overcrowded, and breeding grounds for potential pickpockets. I haven’t been to a public park before the lockdown to assess whether that would have been a feasible option but they are all currently closed.
So after driving around Lagos looking for a location, calling Lagos State Parks Association, and contemplating trespassing, we were finally able to identify Victoria Garden City Park (a residential park in a gated community) as the best picnic spot. Location down, now came the fun part. Getting the food and setup together to make it a Pinterest-perfect picnic.
Pinterest is a great resource to get inspiration, not just for picnics, but for literally anything. If you’re looking for ways to up your self-care game without breaking the bank, there are tons of DIY projects that are offer fun ways to stay creative.
For our picnic we had the following things:
- Floor mat and sheet
- Wooden cutting board (a must-have)
- Food tent (to keep flies out)
- Picnic basket
- Wine, water, and juice
- Cutlery, napkins, serving utensils, cups, and coolers on standby (don’t forget a wine opener, we did)
- Flowers for decoration, board games for fun, and speakers for vibes
- And of course food: fruit, cheese, crackers, banana bread, cinnamon rolls, small chops, and my personal favorite, Chicken Republic sandwiches
Don’t feel pressured to spend a lot of money just to have everything look perfect. I’ve seen so many variations of picnics so as long as you leave happy and full, you’ll be fine. If you have any questions about putting together your own or you want my help, let me know!
I’m really glad we were able to pull this off in time for this week’s post because it was a great example of how we can practice social self-care amidst a lockdown. Surrounding yourself with people you love who bring positive energy is good for the soul! It’s definitely more of a risk than staying completely isolated, but as things start to open up I want us to have different options of how we can connect with people in lower risk situations.
Would you do a picnic in the park? What other activities are you excited to do in your local area? I’m on the hunt to bring new ideas to life now!
