Picnic Quotes: Sourced Lines for Captions, Cards and Invitations

Picnic quotes are short lines about eating outdoors, from classic novels to captions written for photos. The sourced ones below come from two books where a picnic is a scene, with the speaker and chapter noted, followed by unsourced caption lines for everyday use.

Quotes from The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908) has the best-known picnic in children’s literature. In Chapter 1, “The River Bank,” Rat packs a hamper and takes Mole out on the river.

“There’s cold chicken inside it,” replied the Rat briefly.

— Rat, in Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908), Chapter 1

Rat answers when Mole asks what is in the basket. He then lists the contents in one unbroken run of words, which ends with Mole saying, “O stop, stop… This is too much!”

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

— Rat, in Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908), Chapter 1

This is Rat’s reply to Mole in the same scene. It is often used as a caption for any unplanned day outside.

A quote from Emma

Jane Austen’s Emma (1815) includes a picnic that goes badly. The party goes to Box Hill, and Emma makes a joke at the expense of the talkative Miss Bates.

“Badly done, Emma!”

— Mr. Knightley, in Jane Austen, Emma (1815), Volume 3, Chapter 7

Knightley says this to Emma as the group is leaving. It is a rebuke, not a picnic compliment, so it suits a joke caption about a picnic that went wrong more than a card.

Short picnic captions

The lines below are written for this page and have no outside source.

• Blanket, basket, nothing else on the schedule.
• Lunch tastes better with grass under it.
• Bring the good bread.
• Ants were invited too.
• Same sandwiches, better view.

Picnic quotes for invitations

For an invitation, a plain line works better than a literary one. Examples: “Picnic in the park, Saturday at noon. Bring a blanket.” or “Potluck picnic: bring one dish to share.” Include the date, the place, and what guests should bring, because that is the information people look for first.

Picnic quotes that circulate without a source

Several lines online are credited to Winnie the Pooh, Julia Child or Mark Twain with no book or interview attached. A line about “a perfect picnic day” credited to a named author is usually a caption someone wrote. If you can’t find the title or year, post it without the name.

Related reading

For other outdoor and seasonal lines, see Summer Solstice Quotes for the Longest Day of the Year and Maria Montessori Quotes About Nature, Sourced.

FAQ

What is the most famous picnic scene in literature?

The riverbank picnic in Chapter 1 of The Wind in the Willows is the most quoted. The Box Hill picnic in Emma is the best-known one in an adult novel.

What is a short quote for a picnic photo?

Use a one-line caption such as “Lunch tastes better with grass under it.” It is not from a published source, so no attribution is needed.

Do I need to credit a quote in a caption?

If the line is from a book, name the author and title. If you wrote it or can’t find the source, leave the name off.