I don’t have air conditioning in my New York City apartment—which is a perfectly fine way of living for 360 days a year. Every spring, I pull out my trusty box fans and decide they’ll do the trick, as long as I eat lots of watermelon, cucumbers, ice pops, and of course, banana soft serve. It’s summer. I like it hot.

But there is one tiny problem with an apartment that some might call sweltering—no one wants to come over for dinner. So I had an aha moment when I saw this idea at thekitchn.com: Picnic Parties! I live right near a park with lots of trees, and I can just create a spread on a blanket, instead of my kitchen table.

And now that I’m thinking picnics, what about workday lunch picnics? Brunch picnics? And why not a picnic today, to kick off the start of summer? It can be as simple as cheese and crackers or PB&J, or an all-out array of hearty salads. And whenever I’m tempted to buy an air conditioner this summer, I’ll know right where to head—to a picnic party.