Labor day began on September 5, 1982 in New York City. It was originally celebrated as a working man’s holiday. In our home, Labor Day is usually our last ditch effort to hold a family get-together. It’s our way of saying Goodbye to summer and hello to the busy school season that’s about to hit us. Since it’s supposed to be a working womans holiday, I prefer to keep it as simple as possible!
Here are a few tips on how to have a Frugal Labor Day Picnic:
1. Keep it Simple- put together easy to make snacks & drinks. A pitcher of homemade iced tea or lemonade.
- Coleslaw
- Baked Beans
- Crockpot dishes- Mac-n-cheese
- Salads
- Hot Dogs/ Burgers
- Corn on the Cob
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Watermelon
- BBQ Chicken – if you purchase chicken leg quarters, you can boil them ahead of time and then just put them on the BBQ with some sauce until they are warmed up.
2. Choose your Park Carefully– choose a state or county park that has grills and Picnic tables. It’s easier than toting your own grill with you. Just bring a bag of charcoal. Keep in mind that most parks don’t allow alcoholic beverages, so if you’re going to down a few, make sure you have something else to put your drink in! Please don’t forget a trash bag too.
3. Watermelon is an easy treat that won’t make you sick if you leave it out in the sun most of the day. I particularly love the watermelon carving designs that Liss put together here: watermelon carvings.
4.Add some Family fun!- bring along some games- cricket, cards, frisbee, bean bag toss, hoola hoop contest, sidewalk chalk drawings etc.
5. Don’t waste Money on Ice- start today, take a few small containers (cool whip size) and fill them with water, place in the freezer. Come Labor day weekend, you’ll have large chunks of ice for your cooler.
