Welcome to our Recovery Picnic - a family fun day that marks our journeys of mental health recovery and the importance of supports we have around us, especially our friends and family, in times of difficulty.
Enjoy a day of fun-filled picnic and wellbeing activities in the comfort and safety of our own homes, gardens or local parks.
Join us as we celebrate mental health recovery together through wellness workshops, mindful activities, fun and creative indoor and outdoor games, mood-boosting recipes, and much more.
Tags: recovery Resilience event
Picnic preparations
Get started by checking out our Picnic Programme and preparing your picnic basket, before trying out all our different activities below.
Wellbeing workshops
Take a few minutes out to relax and enjoy one of the wellbeing workshops presented by members of our team.
Wellbeing activites for young people
Get crafty and enjoy #MindYourSelfie wellbeing activities from our Walk in My Shoes campaign, suitable for all ages.
-
Selfie Tips
It's time to think positively about ourselves! Follow the instructions in the Selfie Tips sheet below to create your own Origami Chatterbox, then play in teams of two. Ask the person you're playing with to choose a number. Then, move the chatterbox back and forth while you count up to that number. When you've reached it, ask your playmate to pick one of the numbers you can see in the chatterbox, moving it back and forth again until you've reached this number. Your playmate can then choose a final number on view in the chatterbox. Raise the paper flap up to reveal the positive message - and even add something nice you'd like to say to your playmate!
Click here to download our Selfie Tips activity.
-
Selfie Steem
Let's be kind to each other and ourselves! Each person at your picnic can use a Selfie Steem sheet below, writing their name or adding their photo to the centre of the sheet. Then, you can write a positive thought about or message to each person on their individual sheets - whether that's letting them know they're caring or fun to be around, for example, or telling something you've always admired about them. If you like, you can take it even further by using your own sheet to write five things you like about yourself.
Click here to download our Selfie Steem activity.
-
Worry Lorry
Using the Worry Lorry sheet below, write down the things that make you worried or play on your mind on the lorry. Think about the things that make you feel good and help your worries to disappear, and then share them with the second lorry driver. Focus on these positive things as you colour in the rest of the sheet, and notice how your worries are driven away!
Click here to download our Worry Lorry activity.
-
Mindful colouring
Switching off our minds and taking a few moments to ourselves is really important. Our mindful colouring activities can help young people to feel more relaxed by bringing their attention to the present moment as they focus on how to choose and apply colour in our specially-created designs.
Click here to download our range of mindful colouring sheets.
Mindfulness exercises
Take a few minutes out for our guided relaxation exercises to introduce mindfulness and meditation practices.
These exercises, presented by one of our clinical team, offer body scans, breath work, and relaxation techniques, which not only help to improve our mindfulness, but also enhance our ability to relieve tension built up in the body and mind.
Listen to the exercises here
Family activity packs
Keep the whole family entertained with our fun activity packs for outdoor and indoor games (just in case the weather doesn’t hold up!).
You will need some household items to play the games, but not too many - you'll find all the details of what you need and guides on how to play in our packs below.
Our family, friends and supporters often walk beside us on our journeys of mental health recovery, and taking the time to thank them for their support can mean a lot to them. If you'd like to send a message of thanks to someone in your life, you can download our digital cards and social media posts below to let the person know you're thinking of them and that you're grateful for their support.
Recovery Picnic cards
Having the right soundtrack to your day makes all the difference. Whether you want to meditate to some calm music during your wellbeing workshops or to dance to some family favourites, we have you covered with our Picnic Playlists. Click on the links below to open the playlists in Spotify.