5 Great Picnic Meals with the Willow Picnic Basket Set

The Willow Picnic Basket Set is like eating at the classiest restaurant in town… on the go! Popularized by Little Miss Muffet, picnic baskets gradually became uncool in the mid twentieth century. But then along came Yogi Bear, and picnic basket sales soared! And then, they fell back out of the public eye in the late 1990s. But once you pick up your Willow Set and head down to the big old oak tree in the grassy park, you’ll remember why people preferred to eat outdoors once-upon-a-time. Here are five great occasions to get some use out of your Willow Picnic Basket Set!

1. The Weekday Lunch Break, you and three office-mates

a. 2 thermoses of soup

b. 8-16 slices of bread

c. 1 jar of peanut butter

d. ½ watermelon

e. 1 box of cookies

f. 1 case 5 Hour Energy… or BYOB

2. The Saturday Morning Hike, you and your hiking friend

a. 4 granola bars

b. 4 bottles of water

c. 1 jar of honey for friendly forest bear

3. The Proposal, you and soon-to-be fiance

a. 1 bottle champagne

b. 2 slices of cheesecake

c. Takeout from the fanciest local French restaurant

d. The ring!  Don't forget the ring!

4. The Backyard Camp-Out, with kids

a. 1 box of graham crackers

b. 1 bag of marshmallows

c. Several Hershey bars

d. 12-pack of Mountain Dew

5. The Box Social, for your old-timey workplace singles events

a. Sandwiches for 2

b. Some sort of salad, preferably homemade

c. Fresh fruit and/or vegetables

d. 1 pack Doublemint gum

e. Pie

Amuk's Favorite Products

Some businesses are guarded at night by a watchman, others by alarm or security system. Afinia, however, is protected day and night by Amuk the elephant (pronounced ah-MOOK). Since the company’s inception, Amuk has stood his ground, fending off burglars and unwanted salesmen alike. This snow-covered bronze elephant not only knows how to protect his employers, but he also takes a great deal of pride in the products they sell.

Amuk is African; Afinia is in Minnesota. How does this great immigrant beast keep from freezing during the frigid winters of the Upper Midwest? The Naples Coffee Table, of course. Both versatile and stylish, this table doubles as a crystal fire pit. Amuk has been known to play a game of cribbage with companion birds while partaking in a snifter of brandy in the dead of night, huddled around his Naples Coffee Table. Through snow, rain, sleet, or hail, this is one durable outdoor coffee table that stands up to all elements.

While the side of the building and shrubbery provide some sense of space, Amuk really likes to create an ambiance of sorts by setting up his home base with the Tuscany Pergola. Fellow woodland critters at first asked Amuk what the point of a pergola is—it has the supports for walls but is open on the sides, and the roof is open as well, providing no shelter at all! Amuk explained that it’s all about creating a feel; he wants to enjoy the elements of nature while also providing a sense of space. The critters soon agreed, and now nary a night passes by when hawks aren’t perched from the roof beams, or squirrels aren’t chasing each other around the support beams.

This past Christmas, Amuk invited his critter friends over for a holiday party and rolled out his Portable Casablanca Bar and Rogar Estate Wine Opener, playing bartender. The chardonnay bottles were opened with ease, and cocktails were served from atop this one-of-a-kind bar that had even the beavers marveling. Amuk was able to share photos of his new niece through the glass-top counter, carry on a game of chess with the pull-out gaming table, and of course serve holly nog from the glasses in the counter of his bar. (The next morning proved to be a little rough, naturally.)

When Amuk ran tired of getting other local businesses’ junk mail by mistake, he knew it was time for a proper personalized high-quality mailbox, and opted for the Whitehouse Ultimate Mailbox Package. The weather-resistant mailbox features a customizable name plate with house number, decorative side and door panels, a separate newspaper cubby, and 54” post. The postman recently commended Amuk for having the nicest mailbox on the Chanhassen route!

Here in the winter, it gets dark out by 5:00pm and the sun doesn’t rise until 7:00am—that’s 14 hours of darkness each day, something the average elephant can’t tolerate. But Amuk has his Fanshaw Spotlight in case of emergency (and perhaps partially for his unmistakable sense of style). This 76” high spotlight not only lights up the entire night sky, but Amuk is able to send important messages to Afinia's President, Mitch, via Morse Code.

Amuk truly is valuable to Afinia, but it’s his keen taste for unusual décor, trustworthy merchandise, and practical tools that set him apart from other neighboring elephants.

Top 10 Afinia Products to Keep Hidden in Your Office

1. Ford Trimotor Model Airplane: For those times when you can no longer bear to be working and want to pretend you’re on a jet heading for Waikiki Beach. “Yeeee-oooowwwwn!” you say as you fly your handheld plane across the office, swooping through doorways.

2. Brass Yacht Bell: When the power randomly happens to go out, how else are you going to get your co-workers’ attention? A few clangs on this beauty and they’ll all come running to your office to hatch an escape plan before the power comes back on.

3. Labyrinth Basket: Okay, it’s not something to keep hidden; it’s what you hide inside of it! Buried under a few folders and papers you have stored your emergency stash of Butterfingers, that bottle of 1987 Shiraz, your anti-diarrheal medication, and blackmail photos for the day your office mate betrays you.

4. Ambrogio 30 Minute Hourglass: It’s 4:03… Fifty-seven more minutes to go?! Rather than watching the clock, you’ll be amazed to find that time really does fly by faster when you’re watching it trickle away in an hourglass! Sort of…

5. Rogar Champion Wine Opener: Let’s face it, one day the company is going to go under and when you get the news, you’ll be glad you had a way to pop the cork out of that Shiraz bottle you’ve been saving.

6. Real Flame Personal Gel Fuel Fireplace: You really don’t want to admit it, but you’re kind of a pansy in the winter months when it comes to the cold weather. Not wanting to blare a portable space heater, you do it the environmentally-friendly way with an enclosed flame coming out of a hollowed-out rock!

7. Scottsdale 6-Player Croquet Set: For those crystal-clear 72-degree June days where sitting in a dark office just won’t cut it, you and the gang can take an extra few minutes on break and break out a game of croquet on the back lawn.

8. Willow Picnic Basket Set: See #7. Someone needs to bring the refreshments!

9. Once Upon a Time Girl Brass Statue: For the isolated office worker who is just dying for some companionship, this brass lawn ornament can quickly become your best friend in times of need. “Jane, I just wish everyone here was as good at listening to my problems as you!”

10. Stateroom Mirror #2: Always a good idea to have one of these on hand in times of needed self-reassurance. “I’m good enough, I’m start enough, and doggone it, people like me!”