A picnic is a giveaway problem disguised as a catering problem. Everyone arrives carrying something and leaves carrying more, usually across a car park, usually with a child attached. The items that work here are the ones that solve that.

Start with the thing they sit on

A rollup picnic blanket is the rare giveaway that is used for the entire duration of the event and then lives in a car boot for years. It also puts your logo flat on the ground in the middle of a crowd, which no shirt or hat can do. If the budget allows exactly one good item, this is usually it.

Cooler bags beat coolers

Hard coolers are expensive, heavy and mostly already owned. Insulated tote bags cost a fraction, fold flat for shipping, and get reused for groceries every week after the picnic is over. Order them a size larger than feels necessary — the ones that fit a full shop are the ones that stay in circulation.

Count families, not badges

The most common ordering mistake at a company picnic is buying to the employee headcount. Attendance is typically two to three times that once partners and children come, and running out in front of someone’s family is the version people remember. Split the order: one better item per household, plus cheap high-volume items — frisbees, sunglasses, water bottles — for everyone else.