A fun part of back-to-school shopping is the search for the perfect lunch container.
This fall, there are lots of new designs for students old and young, with thoughtful details and add-ons meant to make lunchtime pleasant and palatable.
Form and function
Karen Cicero, contributing editor at Parents magazine, reminds parents and caregivers to keep kids’ ages and grade levels in mind when shopping for lunch boxes.
“If you have a preschooler or kindergartner, you’ll want a box that’s easy to open and close,” she says.
“For middle-schoolers, you want to make sure it’s large enough to hold their lunch, an ice pack, and snacks they’ll need for after-school practices.”
Also consider how easy the box is to clean.
Bento boxes
Bento boxes are big among elementary and middle-school kids, says Cicero. Popular for years in Asia, bento boxes are made of plastic or steel fitted with various-size compartments. That separation keeps foods from becoming a pile of crumbs or mush.
And with just one container to wash and re-use, there’s often less waste. No more zippered baggies, plastic wrap or foil to pollute the environment.
There are built-in bento containers in many of this season’s lunch boxes.
Or Bentgo’s colorful, leak-proof bento containers come in several varieties, including an insulated bowl with a silicone-lined snap lid and its own fork and spoon. (www.bentgo.com)
Ditch the disposables
Other environmentally friendly options include Russbe’s sturdy, gusseted reusable bags, which come in a bunch of designs and sizes. All have leak-resistant double-lock closures; they’re alternatives to plastic bags. (www.reuseit.com)
Cicero also likes Packit: The whole bag is lined with a gel material, so you can freeze it the night before and food stays chilled all day. (www.packit.com)
Trending topics
Unicorns are trending strongly with girls, Cicero says. Zazzle.com has a nice variety; a lot feature rainbows, too. Target has the Skip Hop Zoo unicorn-shaped bag, and Gymboree offers a unicorn-printed box that clips to a matching backpack. (www.target.com; www.gymboree.com)
Other popular patterns? Cute cats and fun food.
Pottery Barn Kids has a lunch sack shaped like a kitten’s face. (www.pbkids.com)
Photo-printed lunch boxes and bags stand out from the crowd; some are even 3-D. (www.aliexpress.com)
For younger kids, dinosaur, galaxy, mermaid and camouflage patterns in glow-in-the-dark inks are popular. Nike has lunch-size versions of its classic duffel bag. (www.store.nike.com)
Crocodile Creek has designs with jungle, robot and backyard animal themes. (www.crocodilecreek.com) And Hanna Andersson offers soft lunch boxes in whimsical designs including a galaxy and spaceship, fluttery butterflies, race cars, and smiling suns with rainbows. (www.hannaandersson.com)
Licensed characters are perennial lunch box favorites. This year, a Wonder Woman lunch box picks up on the movie’s popularity. And the front of a Star Wars Chewbacca lunch box is covered in washable fake fur. (www.lunchbox.com)
