Picnic Under the Stars
I wanted to share a fun idea for your weekend, a picnic under the stars, to view all the great astrological events going right now.
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According to NASA there are so many lunar and astrological events you can view in the next few months so why not take advantage of the best show in town from your own backyard? I found some great updates and posts at SPACE.COM, giving more in-depth information and stating dates and view times. My advice is that viewers should bring something comfortable to sit on, some snacks and some bug spray, then, just relax and look upward for the celestial show So that is exactly what we plan to do this season in our own backyard. This will be perfect for all families since there are always tons of super moons and meteor showers going on all the time. Even though you may have already started back to school, Saturday evening is still a prime viewing night and even better it is not a school night. Plus it is still pretty early in the year so you may be lucky enough not to have to many school events scheduled yet either, so you can squeeze in one last late night family night. Since it does not seem to get really dark here until almost 9pm with dal light saving time still in place, I figured and traditional style picnic was probably not going to be needed. I started to toy with the idea of fun midnight snacks, as if you were raiding the refrigerator after a late night on the town or while watching a movie.Now you all know how I like to theme things, so the with ideas of cosmic meteors swirling around in my head there could really only be one answer. The Mellow Mushroom, of course. I decided to pre-order a couple of foot long meatball subs. To make them pretty I wrapped them in brown butcher paper and labeled them “meteor meatball subs” with the star tags on the twine ties.I also decided instead of doing any kind of flowers that I would just make some sweet chocolate dipped fruit kabobs. These were easy to pre-make and fruit is always a nice light option for a late night snack. The best tip I can give you for this snack is to put your fruit in the freezer, after you get it on the wooden skewers, it helps the chocolate drizzle to set up, and also keeps it nice and cold on the hot summer evenings.Please know that the chocolate is completely optional for all my chocolate hating friends and family out there, wink, wink.
To finish this picnic off I wanted to add a tasty adult cocktail that we will call, A Shooting Star. This tasty bubbly drink is a mix of Moscato and Ocean Spray’s Sangria Mocktail mixer, which is the perfect light and crisp drink to pair with the fruit. You can leave out the Moscato for a tasty kids mocktail, and add in a flavored sparkling water, like La Croix Coconut or Lime Water for the added bubbles instead. I garnished with fruit and a festive sparkler which is perfect for any holiday gathering.
- 1 part Ocean Spray’s Sangria Mocktail Mix
- 1 part Moscato (use La Croix Coconut or Lime Water for a mocktail)
- Garnish with frozen Kiwi Stars & Blackberries
PIN ME for later and be sure to follow us on Pinterest at Jen @ JENRON DESIGNSI ordered this super cute, Oniva ‘English Plaid Xl’ Fold-Up Blanket Tote from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale a few weeks back. I am super excited that it came in just in time for some picnic style star gazing. Not only is it super comfy, but it folds up to make a compact to-go style blanket perfect for tailgating this fall, and it’s in home teams colors too, GO DAWGS!While this blanket is very nice we decided that for us, the perfect way to look upward at the meteor shower was really going to be in the hammock, lol. Just add a ton of pillows and a light weight blanket, just in case it gets a little chilly, which is highly doubtful in the middle of August.We decided we would not lighting a fire in fireplace, since it was just so darn hot. Too bad we could have made one of our famous S’mores Recipes. No worries, I am sure this fall we will be giving the fireplace a full work out on the crisp autumn evenings, but until then we will stick to candles for our ambient light. Placing large lanterns around the patio and added a few candles to the front of the fireplace to add additional light without adding additional heat is really the way to go in during summer months. Especially in the heat and humidity of Georgia. I really like how the sweet star lanterns cast a few more star shadows on to our picnic area. I got to say I have really used these little lanterns for a lot of holidays. Since they are red they are perfect for the 4th of July and Christmas. I even used them for our Valentine’s Romantic Fireside Date Night. I really love a good multi tasker, classic pieces you can use again and again for many different occasions .Just to add in a little ambient lighting my sweet husband hung an extra set of string lights that we have for outdoor parties, that we will probably eventually install under our lower deck. Similar to the set we have on my screened porch located directly off my office, which I love. I had forgotten that I ordered a set of paper lanterns for a baby shower several months ago which I ended up not using due to rain. However, this would be the perfect opportunity to hang up our pretty lanterns for a night time sky watching party. They were super easy to build and install, check out the quick daytime tutorial below. Enhance your event with unique and stylish decorations and party lights at PaperLanternStore.com! SHOP NOW! *Please note that this post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. These involve no extra cost to you, but may result in me receiving a small commission – for which I am very grateful! You can view my full advertising disclosure here.
All of the lanterns came with a frame to hold them open which also allowed you to hook the lanterns directly on to the lighting of your choice. So they are super easy to use and set up quick for all your events or party needs.We are using Brightech String Lights, which are amazing. One the best set of string lights we have used, and we have several sets on various porches around our home. You can SAVE 10% off with my JENRON friends and family link.Once you have the bulb in place you literally just hook the paper lantern on to the light string. If you want them to hang higher you can use the upper loop located on the top of the light strand, which is perfect for windy conditions. Repeat for each light and viola, you now have floating lanterns for your garden party.Commemorate a this fun occasion, About a month ago, I was contacted by Jennifer over at, Modern Map Art about creating a custom Star Chart for our wedding anniversary. Now, I have to be honest I had never heard of such a thing, but I was so intrigued I just had to go and check it out. So here is the scoop, a star map is a picture taken of the night sky on a specific date, from your exact coordinates. How cool is that? Now you know I just had to have one of those for my anniversary!
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*Please note that this post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. These involve no extra cost to you, but may result in me receiving a small commission – for which I am very grateful! You can view my full advertising disclosure here.
Wow I love this idea, and that is fall over a weekend it will perfect for the kids too, I even bet the teachers give extra credit for watching it. Also those little shooting star cocktails are adorable, they just look like fun in a glass! You always create the best ideas and live such a a fun lifestyle my friend.
Yes! This is such a great idea- a star gazing party, especially as the weather is starting to cool down a bit. I will have to look up the Perseid Meteor Shower at the NASA link you provided to learn a little more, but from what I am seeing looks like this is one of the big ones, so I am super there has not been more hype around it? So happy I follow you, since you seem to be in “the know”.
Oh my I can not even begin to tell you how much I love this idea. It’s learning, fun and ambient all at the same time. The midnight snack picnic pack is so cute, love the fruit kabobs and the sparkletini, now that is fun! Great idea, I think we should have a viewing party next weekend!
Your picnic ideas are absolutely beautiful. I love the food, the lights, and the decor. I’m also a big fan of space so watching a meteor shower in the beautiful setting you created is just icing on the cake.
I love this idea! One day when we have a beautiful backyard like yours, I’m going to do something romantic like this. I just love it!
This looks like such a fun idea! I wish my kids were a little older, because this would be so cool. On another note, the sparklers in your cocktails look so amazing! I am going to have to remember this for next 4th of July.
So glad I found your post, I’ve always wanted to catch one of the summer meteor showers! A picnic during the star gazing sounds like a great idea. And the photos you took make your backyard look absolutely stunning! Goals for sure!
Thank You Elaine I am so glad you saw the post, you have plenty of time to prep and prepare a fun evening for August 11th or 12th, I really wanted to make sure I gave everyone enough time to be able to plan there own festivities. I just hope the weather cooperates.
Thank you Joanna they are are great for New Year’s too!
Thank you Shawn, I love that we live in area with very little light bleed, so we can really see the stars and planets. I am really looking forwarding to seeing the show!
I can not begin to tell you how many times we must have said in a Yogi Bear voice….”Hey Boo Boo I got a Pic-a -nic basket!” Geez we are such dorks.
This such is an amazing ideas! Theres a lot of fun in the decoration. The kids will really love the lights and everything! Your so creative!
This is incredible! What an amazing idea. This is a fun and exciting way to get kids excited about something new. You did a fantastic job and prepping for the picnic.I wish I was there!
So pretty. Seriously how do you come up with these ideas? So creative. I also love your back to school reunion idea..Thanks fo sharing!
oh my goodness this is the cutest date night idea! also had no clue there’s a meteor shower next week! I’ll definitely try to take it out!
Everything looked so amazing! It’s inspired me to give it a go, a picnic under the stars has never looked more cooler than the one you put on. In awe, thanks for the creative inspo.
Thanks for sharing. People often love picnicking in the morning. But I love picnicking at night as it would be cool and peaceful.
Omg the atmosphere the photos set is just amazing. It feels like a combination of New Year’s Eve, Christmas and Halloween. Love it.And love the idea.
I have always wanted to try this but just never had the chance yet! Hopefully we can do it one day!
Oh my world – you have put so much effort into this and it’s totally paid off! It looks like the perfect setting to enjoy the meteor shower so I hope you really enjoy it! Doubt I’ll be able to pull the whole thing off, but I will be using a few of your ideas for sure!
Very romantic and intimate.
Very cute ideas for families. I’d love to adapt this into a romantic date night for two; that would be so lovely!
Wow this is great idea, I will have to remember to look up at the sky this weekend we will be a at wedding so, I am sure we might be about to catch a glimpse of those shooting stars. To bad the bride and groom didn’t know about those fun cocktails, those would have been a treat for their guests, what a show stopper!
You are just so creative, I love the lanterns and picnic idea to view the meteor shower, what a fun way to view a cosmic event. This would make a fun date night too!
Absolutely gorgeous!
Love the idea of a night picnic. I found it so romantic. And Oniva ‘English Plaid Xl’ Fold-Up Blanket Tote seems really useful for a picnic or any other gathering.
This looks and sounds magical. I’ve never done a night picnic before but we do love hanging around our fire pit.
What a fun outdoor celebration and your have a beautiful back yard.
Great idea and article! Kind regards
What a fun way to celebrate and enjoy the starry sky.