This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Smuckers.
Contest is now over. Congratulations to Shelley Mitchel entry #334 who was chosen by random.org. I have the best memories of bringing my lunch to school because my mom would go out of her way to put special touches inside. Whether it was a sweet note on my napkin or my favorite treat tucked inside, I will always have fond memories of sitting down to eat my lunch at school.
Now that my boys are in school I try to make their lunches special too. We make a special trip to the grocery store each week to pick out their favorite healthy treats to put inside their lunch boxes. There is nothing like being excited to pop open those lunch boxes when the bell rings. Both of my boys love to draw and create artwork so I will sometimes draw silly pictures to tuck inside their lunches so they can laugh at what a horrible artist Mom is! On special occasions, I LOVE popping in during lunch to eat with the boys and their friends. They know when I come eat lunch with them that I usually bring some homemade cookies with me to share 🙂 I hope that these little things will create memories for my boys just like my mom did for me 🙂
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1. Leave a comment here on Picky Palate telling us….What is something special you do for your kids lunch or what is something special your mom did for your school lunch? See Official Rule Page HERE.
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Like a lot of people have said above, my mom would leave little notes in my lunch that always made me smile.
We used to be so jealous of the kids who were allowed to purchase a “hot lunch” from school; my mom always made our lunches. Looking back, we just wanted to have what everyone else did, but now I know we were lucky to have a mom that cared enough to make our lunches herself, ensuring each bite was nutritious and filled with love. 🙂
I appreciate it, Mom! Even at 30 years old!
I make special shapes out of her food, she loves having little mini butterfly pizzas or airplane shaped PB&jS!
My daughter isn’t is school yet, but I know when she is I will make her lunches special with fun treats and notes for her day.
My mom used to write a little note and put it in my lunch.
My mom always worked, so when she would be waiting in the school cafeteria with treats for me and my friends that was always a great surprise. She would also sometimes put money in our lunch boxes so we could buy a carton of milk or ice cream cone with our lunch… that was always a special treat, too. I hope to be able to do the same sort of things one day, for my kids.
When my oldest was in kindergarten, he only had school for half a day. The teachers requested they bring a snack in a brown bag every day. Not very eco-friendly, but rules were rules. So, I started the year writing my son’s name on the bag. Very boring. Then we broke out the markers and started dressing them up a bit. As the year progressed, the drawings on his paper bags became more complicated. If it was football season, I’d do balls and bolts (for our SD Chargers) or halloween themed drawings for the month of October. Sometimes my hubby would draw something fun when my creative juices ran dry. My son didn’t care if my drawings were goofy-looking, he loved that his bags were special and he knew how special he was to me.
Now kindergarten is full day, and my youngest is starting in the fall. All 3 kids will bring their own lunch boxes to school. But, whenever there’s a field trip, they have to brown bag it. And all 3 kids request my goofy drawings on their brown bags.
I loved field trip lunches the very best! It was always a bit of a surprise then. As a teacher it was super fun to watch my kiddos open their lunches then, they were always so excited 🙂
i always ate school lunches growing up so my real excitement was excursions. I would get so excited when my mom would bring me to this little kitchen/plate lunch/sandwhich place next to the grocery store to pick out bento to bring with me. I wasnt allowed to have canned juice or soda growing up so to find an almost frozen canned juice wrapped in foil to keep it ICED cold until lunch in my bag was very special.
My mom used to stop by our school and bring us something homemade. My class loved it when she’d stop by, because she always brought some cookies, and sometimes even rolls that she made earlier than morning. It was awesome.
My kids aren’t in school yet, but one thing we do to make lunch exciting here at home is to serve it up occasionally in muffin tins. A quarter of a sandwich here, a couple of carrot sticks there. It’s easy to fill 12 cups with small, healthy foods, and my kids love eating it that way!
Oh how I love Smuckers!
When I was growing up, my DAD packed my lunch every single day. I always got a PB&J – with Smuckers Red Raspberry (with the seeds!) on wheat bread. I knew it would be special and my friends and I always looked forward to peeking inside my lunchbag. My dad would always leave a note on the napkin, or sneak in a piece of candy, or the very thing – he would cut my sandwich in funny shapes. Sometimes it was triangle slices like pizza, sometimes a zig zag down the middle or the side. Sometimes he’d cut one long swirl so I could unwrap my sandwich like a cinnamon roll.
I still buy Smuckers Red Raspberry for myself and my family. I keep a jar at work for making my own sandwiches and when my littles start going to school, they will get that too! I can’t wait to find fun ways to make their lunches special just like my dad did for me.
Hm, I don’t have kids (yet) and my mom was busy when we were kids, so we ate lunch at school. So I’ll go with the what I’d do for my kids, whenever they happen to come into the world: A note (even though it’s so corny!) and randomly putting extra dessert in there. Not all the time, but maybe around once a month! 🙂
My mom would put notes in my lunchbox and I can’t wait to do the same when my son is old enough!
She made it for me! Which was special because she hated to be in the kitchen.
I don’t have children, but I have made lunches for my husband 🙂 My favorite is to be creative with the notes and hide them either in the baggie of chips, or write the note on the baggie itself or anything else creative I can come up with!
I saw a student that had this when I was substitute teaching several years ago…Her mom (or dad) had used a knife to carve I <3 you in the peel of her banana. By the time lunch came around, the part that had been written on had turned brown so the special message was boldly displayed. I LOVE this idea because it is really exciting to get love notes in your lunch box AND bananas are a healthy addition to lunch! So cute!
I will do that for my kids when I have them…I think my husband might get embarrassed if I did it for him. hehe!
KT
my daddy used to draw funny faces on my lunch sack daily….My son gets sweet notes
Well, my mom never made my lunches, but when my dad did, he would put the famous first lines of a novel in my lunch bag. He hoped that it would inspire me to start something great.
I always mushy notes on an extra napkin and put it in their lunches.
My kids are 2 & 4, so not school-aged yet. But, EVERY day we eat lunch together. They help me make our meal, then we all sit together and talk about what our favorite part of the day has been so far. It’s a fun little tradition that we never miss!
I try to add special touches to my kid’s lunches by cutting their food into different shapes…they usually have a lot more fun with eating their food that way 🙂
She always took the crust off my pb&j sandwiches so i didn’t have to!
I cut out there sandwiches into shapes and usually leave a Kiss candy in the lunch bag.
My mom always took me grocery shopping with her, so I was allowed to pick a treat that could into my lunch box. And she always put a little note in there, or a sticker. I think the best thing she did was pack a thermos of my favorite soup on winter days. I never knew when she’d do it, so it was always a surprise, and it was the BEST. Warm soup for lunch, oh man.
peanut butter and banana sandwiches and “ants on a log” for lunch! ha, my mom used to be “room mom” when I was in kinder and 1st grade adn I still remember the snack of choice that my mom would bring all of my classmates. I hope to have that opportunity when my sons get in school and we can share those same memories 🙂
I love to put notes and special “treats” in my kids lunches. My daughter especially loves it.
My oldest is starting kindergarten next month, I’m so excited to leave her little notes and special treats 🙂
When my husband makes my lunch he will cut my sandwich into hearts or into little puzzles. It is funny and always makes me laugh. He will write I love you with the mustard or do silly stuff like that all the time. I will be doing things for my children once they actually start school to make it special and of course I will be stopping by to eat with them every now and again and bring yummy treats for all their friends!
I don’t have any kids, but I’m lucky enough to have a house-husband who makes my lunch for me every day. He bought these special (adorable) little containers to put all my lunch (and breakfast!) items in. And just to remind me that my sandwich was made by him, with love, he takes the first bite every time! lol… 🙂
Every day my mom would put a clue in my lunch box that would lead to a surprise or treat at the end of the week. A week long scavenger hunt! Sometimes it would lead to Grandma’s house, other times it was a treat in the cabinet. Regardless, big or small, it was always fun. 🙂
My mom would always write a note to me, too! 🙂
I try and send extra cookie or two to share with a friend.
If I had children, I would make the lunches special by adding a little homemade treat.
I love to write little positive notes on her napkin.
wow, you can just pop in on your kid at school for lunch? They really frown on that at my daughter’s school. They also don’t let you bring anything that is homemade to share with classmates. If you are going to do that sort of thing you have to get approvial from the teacher beforehand and everything has to be prepackaged. Where’s the fun in that?
I do remember as a kid my mom would make special treats to bring to class and sometimes come for lunch. I thought it was cool too. Now they say it is too distracting for parents to disrupt the routine and fear that people will poison kids with cupcakes or whatnot. It’s pretty sad if you ask me.
My husband and I like to decorate the lunchbags special for our kids. The oldest doesn’t get them decorated anymore (she is too cool!) but my 8 year old LOVES it!