So I have been having fun doing a few little silly things here and there for my girl’s lunchboxes. I don’t usually have the time to go all out with a super fancy Bento box but I do like to take an extra minute or two when I can to make things fun.
So here are a few very quick and easy things that I did over the past week with lunchboxes. You can see tons more ideas in the collage above and then at the bottom of the post you can click the links to get all the details about how those clever people put it all together.
Eyeballs. These little candy eyeballs made by Wilton are so easy. I think they are a riot personally and I use them all the time. You can find them in the baking section of tons of stores or get them at the craft stores too. (See more ideas for using these eyeballs with fruit here.)
I use a little penaut butter or a dab of frosting to made them stick to whatever it is. In this case I adhered one set to some fruit for my big girl and then one set to a fig newton for my preschoolers snack.
Seasonal Foods.
And this was a lunch for my big girl and kind of a treat day. Sometimes just seasonal foods they don’t usually get can be fun. In this case we made a whole wheat pumpkin bread (no sugar added) and then I drew on her applesauce cup.
I added fresh apple cider from the pumpkin patch we visited and then made a trail mix of pretzels, raisins and just a few fall colored Reese’s candies. Plus she got a little carrot and celery mix with my favorite eyeballs peeking out.
These Mummy Juice boxes are really fun and very popular. I have seen tons of variations on these in magazines and such. This works best with an actual box (and not a pouch drink.) I don’t usually give the girls juice boxes but on occasion they get the little boxes of organic milk. This is a box of Organic Valley milk singles and I wrapped it in some First Aid tape that we have. You can use duct tape or any other thicker white tape and then just glue little googley eyes on the front (or you can draw them on.)
I have tried this with guazey Ace Bandaids and the tape definitely works better. These are super cute for class parties. You could do orange tape for a Jack o lantern or Green tape for Frankenstein too!
Cookie Cutters. The easiest way to jazz up a lunchbox is always with cookie cutters. We have tons of them and you can get them for just $1.00 in zillions of shapes at Joann’s or at Sur La Table.
I used a pumpkin cookie cutter for a PB&J sandwich and then I cut a fruit strip up just with a knife to make the little face. Use a tiny dab of PB&J to adhere the fruit strips in place.
If you have a peanut free school you can use cheese just as easily or try a cream cheese and jelly sandwich.
And when I had my Silhouette machine out making some vinyl window decals for the front door, I also made this little spooky ghost face. That is just plain milk inside and if you don’t have a Silhouette, a marker might work or just cut out black construction paper or the little stickers for Halloween are really cheap right now at craft stores. How cute is that for class parties?!
I took an apple and just popped out a tiny hole, dabbed in some peanut butter and cut a gummy worm in half and added that to the side. This one made me smile and my little girl came racing out of school giggling about the “rotten apple” her crazy Mother packed. Apparently the kids at school got a kick out of this.
And this was for my preschooler. I think little things like holiday napkins or little toys or stickers go a long way. I try to be careful with extras because the kids usually don’t have a lot of time to eat and you don’t want them starving all day because they were fooling with a toy and not eating lunch.
But I got a bag of spider rings for just $.97 at Walmart and these napkins were on clearance for like $.10 last year. I also peeled a tangerine and added a tiny gummy worm to the top to make the stump of a pumpkin.
And one last little idea- I did the same thing for my big girl. Instead of milk she got Simply Orange Juice with a Jack o Lantern face and a cute straw taped to the back. She also got a whole wheat bagel with homemade pumpkin cream cheese, a plum and some carrots. Easy!
And here are links for the cute ideas you see pictured above:
- Frankenstein Sandwich with String Cheese Ghost from Bento-ology
- Ghost Cheese and Crackers from Bento Lunch at Our House
- Ghost Hardboiled Egg and RIP Sandwich from bent On bento
- Chocolate Monster Treats by 36th Avenue
- Spiderweb Sandwich by Creative-Food
- Banana Ghosts and Oranges (I don’t have a source for these but it looks like dried blueberries or maybe chocolate chips on bananas to make the ghosts and then a celery nib to make the pumpkin oranges)
- Mummy Sandwich by Meet the Dubiens
- Bat Sandwich by Meet the Dubiens
And if you want to buy any of the cute little things pictured to jazz up your lunchboxes, here are a few links:
- Food Markers (you can use these like pens to write on food and it is perfectly safe to eat)
- Halloween Cupcake Picks (to stick in food- these are reusable)
- Wilton Candy Eyeballs
- Halloween themed cookie cutters
More fun ideas can be found on my Halloween Pinterest Board.
Michelle | Creative Food says
Such cute Halloween lunchbox ideas! Thanks for including my spiderweb bento! 🙂
Joy says
You are such a fun Mom! 🙂 Going to do the gummy worm apple and eyeball ideas for my boys who are in middle school.