It’s time to start thinking about back to school. Your kids will be ready to return with these fun lunch time essentials. One great thing to have is bento boxes. I am not one to create works of art each day inside their lunches, but I love to have nice compartments for their food.
This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.
These are my favorite bento boxes. There are only two removable compartments which I find to be just the right size. They last for a really long time and are dishwasher safe. There are no extra lids on top of the containers which I love!
We have used these expandable lunch packs and liked the size and that they have two zippered compartments for ice packs which are included. They also have a bento box included. Personally, I was not a big fan of the included boxes and used the ones shown above instead after trying the included ones for a while.The included box has too many lids which tend to get lost and are a pain for the kids to open and keep track of and wash each time. But, I found the lunch packs to be a worthwhile purchase even though I used a different bento box.
Another lunch pack that we like is shown below. It is a little smaller in that it does not expand. Our kids like to carry their water bottles separately so they do not need the expandable feature in the box above. An ice pack sits nicely inside the pack underneath your bento box (neither of which are included). As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to buy the bento box separately anyway. It comes in a wide variety of colors. Our kids loved to be able to personalize by picking their favorite colors.
Our kids were so excited by the new ice packs we got. We have tried a variety of ice packs and these are especially fun due to the colors and cute snowflake design. The size works nicely in the both the lunch packs I have shared. The first one includes ice packs but the ones pictured below are actually easier to fit into the zippered compartments. Our kids tried these out at summer camp and they worked really well.
We have tried a variety of water bottles. When they were smaller, the kids liked the Contigo Autospout water bottles and we did too because they held just the right amount of water and didn’t leak.
Now that our kids are a little bigger and drink more water, they like the Rubbermaid water bottles pictured below which have a bigger capacity at 24 ounces. They run around enough that they can finish one over the course of a day. Our kids are runners and we like to take these water bottles with us whenever they train.
It is nice to have another thing off the list for back to school shopping! We hope you enjoy the back to school lunch essentials as much as we do.
CHECK OUT THESE BACK TO SCHOOL IDEAS!
Enjoy These Back To School Guides and Craft Ideas Too! Click on photos!
Back To School Blog Hop
Back To School Guide For Kindergartners & Kindergarten Teachers
Emoji School Supplies | DIY Emoji Back To School Supplies
Back to School Guide for Homeschoolers
Kids Getting Ready To Go Back To School
Kimspireddiy says
The bento boxes are great and the ice packs are so cute. Great ideas to pack the kids school lunch.
Theresa says
Thank you. I feel much more confident recommending things after our four have given them a true test!
Theresa says
Thank you! : 0 )
shelah moss says
My daughter adores bento boxes. For some reason, she will eat just about anything if it’s attractively packed and the lunchboxes you found look perfect for our needs. Thanks for making shopping easier this year!
Theresa says
Our kids feel the same way. They like things better packaged in a neat box. : 0 )
Leanna @ Alldonemonkey says
These are great supplies! We actually have several of these and love them!
Theresa says
I am glad to hear you love them too! : 0 )
Tammy Doiel says
We love water bottles! I’ll have to try out the Rubbermaid ones. I gave my kids Tervis ones for Christmas last year.
Theresa says
They are durable and inexpensive. I hope you like them! We haven’t tried Tervis bottles before. I just looked them up and they look nice too. Thank you. : 0 )