5 Cute Lunch Box Ideas That Don’t Require Tons of Time or Crafting

It’s almost time to trade bikes for books, and baseballs for backpacks. Crazy right? Summer flew by and now it’s back to school for the kids. But you’re kind of ready to get your kids back to school, right? I know I am. By now you’ve probably already gotten some school supplies (and scored some great deals!). You’ve outfitted your kids with some new clothes for the year ahead. You’ve gotten backpacks, and sneakers, and lunch boxes. But have you thought about what’s going in those lunch boxes? Maybe you searched the web for some super fun ideas only to find blog after blog of creatively decorated foods that you’d need a design or pastry degree to pull off. If you’re feeling a few robot-shaped sandwiches short of Pinterest perfect, I’ve got some foolproof ideas for creative and fun lunches your kids will love. These ideas are super simple and won’t take you hours. Even the busiest (and least crafty) moms will have fun making lunches special with these tips!

1. Make it Noteworthy

Print out a week or a month’s worth of notes at a time, or borrow some of your kid’s markers and handwrite a week’s worth of notes yourself. Keep them handy in the drawer where your snack bags are stored, so you can easily drop one in your kid’s lunch box in the morning. It’s the quickest way to take a packed lunch from drab to fab, and even quicker with this motherlode of free printable lunch notes.

2. You Gotta Go Bento

Adorable bento-style lunch boxes instantly take any lunch from average to amazing. Bento boxes for kids are widely available and come in all sorts of colors and styles. You can get plastic bento boxes or stainless steel bento boxes. They can be stackable or leak-proof. But the best part is that no matter what you pack, it just looks cuter in a bento box. No crafting required!

3. Doodles for Days

With permanent markers, you can draw on just about anything. Doodle on sandwich bags or string cheese pouches, even banana or orange peels. Draw smiley faces, hearts, rainbows or little cars, or put your spin on your kid’s favorite emojis. Then add a short and sweet note like “Love ya!” or “XOXO” to bring a whole lotta mom love to the school day.

4. Cut it Out

Do you use your cookie cutters all the time to cut out cookie dough? Yeah, me neither. But be glad you saved all those cookie cutters, because they’re the quickest way to cut sandwiches into fun, festive shapes. Just stack your ingredients, cut and pack! You might want to store the cookie cutters you’ll use for sandwiches with other lunch-packing supplies instead of with baking stuff, so you’re not digging for them when you should already be out the door in the morning.

5. Stick It to ‘Em

Hit up your local dollar or craft store and get some stickers of your kid’s favorite characters or things they think are super cool. Then slap a sticker on their snack bag or juice box as a little reminder of how much you love them. Don’t use just any random stickers. Picking out something just for them is what makes it really special. See, you don’t have to be Supermom to pack an adorable lunch box. And besides, I have a feeling your kids think you’re a superhero either way!

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