What’s the 2nd most sought after back- to- school item on our list? Lunch boxes! Even though my daughter will eat some of her meals at school, we will also be making her lunches at home to send with her to school.
Lunch boxes come in many shapes, sizes and materials – the choices can be overwhelming at times. But, if you do your homework ahead of time, the choice should be a breeze when it comes time to make your purchase.
Metal, plastic and insulated are the top choices in most stores. With pros and cons to each…it’s really a personal choice on which to choose.
Metal lunch boxes are sleek and stylish and are perfect to customize with your favorite photos or logos. While it doesn’t offer much insulation for food, they can come in fun patterns and colors that are retro or vintage in feel.
Plastic l
unch boxes were popular in the 70’s and 80’s and can come in many different styles and patterns as well. Providing protection and individualized compartments for food, this is a great choice for kids who love themed products. Don’t forget to look for BPA free when choosing a plastic lunch box – we like cute…but not the bad chemicals that can leach into food from regular plastic.
Over the last 10 years, insulated or soft-sided lunchboxes have been the trend. Insulated lunch boxes help retain food temperature and most close with a zipper or velcro, so it’s pretty kid friendly. There are lots of fun shapes and designs to choose from when choosing an insulated lunch box.
One of the best things about insulated lunch boxes are the ultra-cool and handy Bento Boxes that can be fit inside. Bento boxes are reusable, BPA free and have individualized compartments to put healthy food choices in. Something I’m going to be purchasing for my Kindergartner this year!
Have you picked out a lunch box for your child this year yet? I’d love to hear which you like best or what you’ll be choosing!
Both of my boys have bento style lunch boxes and I love how easy and organized it makes packing their lunches. My oldest daughter is starting HS this year and thinks that they are to “little kid” for her. I’ve found her a purse looking lunch bag with a water proof interior that can be easily cleaned.
Those pottery barn lunch boxes are pretty fancy. I might just have to get my kid one!
We got our son a tin Spiderman lunch box for his first year of full day school this year and he is so excited about it! Those Bento Boxes are really cool though!!!
I wish Bento Box lunchboxes had been popular when I was a kid. Besides being awesome, I think you can eliminate a lot of baggy use by using them.
My daughter had one of the Hello, Kitty soft sided lunch boxes this year. She didn’t complain about things getting squished but I did use reusable containers for her sandwich & juice. The only thing I didn’t love is cleaning the exterior. In the end, it looked pretty filthy no matter what I did. My daughter loves the pink with white polka dot soft sided box from Pottery Barn since it would go with her back pack (also from PB & has held up really nicely). I’ve been interested in doing the bento thing for quite a while since there’s part of me that thinks I might be able to sneak more of a variety into fun lunches. I’m curious to look into all of the 31 bag & the Freeze-it now LOL
They are all so sweet! I didn’t pick up lunch box yet, but I really like this Pottery Barn Lunch Bags!
Those are my favorites, too!
We bought the Pack-It bag! You freeze the entire bag & it keeps milk cold for the whole school day. They advertised 12 hours, I did my own temp check & was only comfortable going 8 hours, but that’s ling enough to make it to lunch 🙂
Ooooo….I haven’t heard about the pack-It bag, either! All so new to me! Going to check those out now, too! Thanks, Jenny!!
We’re all about the bento boxes here — we have a variety. You do have to be careful — not all are BPA free.
Good tip! I would think that most of them are BPA free now. Guess not! Thanks for the heads up!! : )
I can weigh in on this one. My girls both have the soft sided lunch boxes (1 Littlest Pet Shop and 1 Hello Kitty). They came free when we bought backpacks a couple years ago at Toys R Us. I like that they have a zipper pocket on the bottom that holds a Tupperware type container so a sandwich doesn’t get squished. I also like that the bottom pocket is insulated if I want to send something cold for lunch. What I don’t like about the soft sided lunch box ironically is that it is soft sided! Anything that goes in there is subject to being crushed or smashed when the child shoves it into their backpack and then piles stuff on it or, in my kids’ cases, sits or steps on it on the school bus.
From what I understand, the new trend in lunch boxes is the Thirty-One bags. They are soft sided and insulated, come in several cool patterns/colors, and can have the child’s name stitched on them. I haven’t bought them yet, but I’m considering it.
Hi Carol! Those Toys R Us deals are awesome when it comes to buying a backpack and getting a lunch box FREE! Love it!
We’ll have to be careful about the soft-sided ones. I would be upset if my kid’s lunch was all smooshed. I didn’t know about the Thirty-One bags. Off to check them out! Thanks!
ooo. I love that Bento lunch box! So cool with the little compartments
Aren’t they cool?! I can’t wait to try them out!