Sending your child to school with a lunch can be a labor of love or a pain in the butt depending on your parenting style. Just like what we keep in our diaper bag, the contents of a child’s lunch can reveal a ton about whoever packed it.
In fact, there are few things that say more about a parent than the ever popular “lunchbox note” which can be used to profess love, reinforce expectations, inflict worry, etc, etc.
The possibilities are endless really.
Here are 12 different lunchbox notes from very different parents, plus one more chance to win a $250 Amex gift card from Mini Babybel:
the Classic Mom:
You’re an old-fashioned kind of mom who ate PB&J religiously as a kid and want your kid to follow in your footsteps. Except you traded your apple for Twinkies every day and pray you’ve raised your kid a little smarter.
the Sarcastic Mom:
You’re a love it or leave it kind of mom and refuse to be anybody’s short order cook. That lasagna is not going to waste on your watch. If your kids don’t appreciate their lunch, at least they’ll appreciate your sense of humor.
the Pinterest Mom:
You’re a competitor who will not be defeated in the high-stakes game of packing lunch. When the other parents find out about your hand-carved melon flowers and the cheese cut to look exactly like SpongeBob SquarePants, they’ll know who the lunch master is at this elementary school.
the WannaBe Pinterest Mom:
You’ve been spending a little bit too much time on Pinterest, where everything looks so easy to pull off! Unfortunately, you forgot you don’t possess a creative bone in your body. But what you lack in talent, you make up for in love.
the scholarly Mom:
Every moment is a teaching moment, including time spent in the cafeteria. How else is your little Einstein going to go to an Ivy League if he doesn’t make the most of every second he’s in school?
THE super COOL DAD:
Yes, we get it, Dad, you’re the cool parent who packs treats in their lunches instead of Mean Mom who makes them eat fruit the rest of the week. We’ll be sure to give you credit at the dentist next time we visit. (Pretty cool monster sandwich though.)
the drill sargent Mom:
Managing the schedules of multiple kids is tricky business and you are not going to show up late for swim practice if it’s the last thing you do. Some people program their schedule in their phone. You’ve got a color coded master calendar hanging in the kitchen. Did I say hanging? I meant— you’ve converted one whole wall into a white board.
the forgetful mom:
There are so many in-school and after school activities, you don’t understand how any parent keeps track. What? The kids were supposed to bring in a show and tell item today? NOBODY TOLD ME! Oh, it was listed on the school website? Oops. I didn’t realize I was supposed to be checking that thing.
the Star Wars Obsessed Mom:
It doesn’t need to be the fourth for you to feel the force. It’s with you all day every day and has been since you were five. You are first in line every time a new movie comes out and your dream is that one day your kids will get as excited about it as you do.
The Overprotective Mom:
You’ve been lurking outside your kid’s classroom since preschool and don’t see any signs of backing down. Once a teacher actually shut the door in your face while you were trying to observe circle time.
The Totally Embarrassing Dad:
You love a good dad joke and make them often. Your kids are the perfect age for them too. They think you are HILARIOUS, even though you’re pretty sure you’ve caught mom rolling her eyes more than once.
the ridiculously busy Mom:
You have things to do and places to be and packing a lunch sometimes falls off your radar. Plus, you suck at it anyway. Your kids love microwave meals— they have them for dinner all the time! Tomorrow, you’re giving them cash. It’s pizza day!
No matter what kind of lunch you send with your child to school, Mini Babybel can fit right in.
Whether you want perfect portions, protein, convenience, a good source of calcium, bold flavors, or fun packaging that gets kids excited, Mini Babybel checks off all the boxes.
Mini Babybel is 100% natural cheese and a great choice for an easy, packable lunchbox addition or snack for everyone in the family. It comes in seven different rich and creamy flavors— from classic Original to smooth Mozzarella style, each with at least 4 grams of protein and 15% of your daily calcium needs. All for 70 calories or less.
If that doesn’t say “I love you” sufficiently, you can write it on a note!
GIVEAWAY: $250 Amex Gift Card + Mini Babybel
Today, I am giving away one more $250 Amex gift card + a selection of Mini Babybel cheese to pack in your kid’s lunchbox. Just leave a comment below telling me what your kid’s lunchbox says about you!
I’ll pick my favorite response as the winner which will be announced on Monday, October 5th.
You must be a Mommy Shorts Facebook Fan or subscriber to enter!
winner update:
I have two kids in elementary school and I’d say my lunch style is last minute/lazy mom. My kids’ lunches usually consist of a turkey sandwich, juice box, goldfish and pretzels. Every. Single. Day. Except Friday…my son buys lunch on Friday, but my daughter refuses to buy. BORING! Wish I was a little more creative, but that would require food shopping and planning. 😉
My daughters lunch note would day “sorry!????”. Mostly because I’m in such a rush most of the time I start their lunch and my husband finishes making lunch- which usually results in us forgetting to put something in the box- sometimes even the lunch itself.
I’m a mix between trying to be a Pinterest mom (and failing!) and being the forgetful mom. “Here, some hummus and a hand full of loose carrot sticks and grapes counts…right?”
My son’s lunch probably says that I lack imagination, but really I’m just trying to pack something I know he will eat- so picky, this kiddo. So, yes, PB&J 3 days a week, cheese and carrots the other 2. Not much variety, but it keeps him full and happy…
and isn’t that really the point?
These are so funny! I am a mixture of several of these! My kids have healthy, well rounded meals and I try to make faces and funny foods….. And leave goofy notes everyday!
I would say I’m a cross between a wannabe pinterest mom, and a totally embarrassing dad/mom. I try to make my son’s lunch and snack cute and nutritionally well balanced, but in reality have neither the time nor the drive for perfection. But I make an attempt. And corny jokes totally patch up any flaws! 🙂
Leftovers all the way. I cannot imagine making another meal after dinner.
It says (i hope) I love my child, but I am tired. Pregnant working mom with a toddler is not for the faint of heart… If it’s a balanced diet and packed the night before, I consider that a minor win.
My oldest guys snack gets a note, usually you’re awesome, or be kind. His lunch gets a note that reminds him that his school is nut free so there is still no pb&j sandwich!!
My oldest daughter just started school so she doesn’t read much yet. I’ve only sent a few little notes in her lunchbox with her name, some little drawings, and a love mommy and sisters at the bottom. So, I try to make her lunch special with little shaped sandwiches (hearts, stars, flowers, pumpkins), mini smoothies, her favorite fruits, and she just LOVES her little “red cheese wheels” that we buy in bulk so she can take one everyday.
I’m a mix between Pinterest fails and pre-packaged snacks and a sandwich (or tortilla, or just meat if I forgot beard… again!) thrown together at the last minute lunches. They usually have a baby bell and a go-gurt daily as well. Friday’s I take a rest and pay for lunch, hey it’s pizza day and I’m sometimes the cool mom. My notes are always a kids silly joke that pulled from the internet. He loves them!
My sons lunch says that we care about eating some veggies with every meal. He’s actually pretty good about it. Also, it’s a reminder to avoid nuts (he’s allergic!).
I have a new kindergartner – CAN I MAKE THIS ANY EASIER FOR YOU TO EAT YOUR LUNCH?
The main focus is to make it easy for him to eat more food . . . some food .. . . any food? Notes? That will distract him! He needs to eat!
(and maybe with my efforts (maybe not) he is starting to actually eat his lunch at school instead of on the way home from school . . . )
My husband and I have hosted 15 exchange students from different countries over the past few years before we had our own little guy. I went from being a newly wed late 20-something to instant mom of 3 teenagers at one point. Even though I wasn’t their birth mom, I always referred to myself as their ‘American mom’. I had to pack their lunches everyday for school and would leave them little simple notes ‘have a great day!’, ‘how’s your lunch…if you don’t like it-tell me! Otherwise I won’t know!’
We had a family dinner jar where we pull out a random question or topic and talk about it. One night ‘what’s your favorite memory of a picnic’. These kids had never had a picnic. What?! Then a week or two later; we went to a theme park, packed our lunches (I’m frugal that way) and while we were eating, one of the boys -a 17 year old boy- looks at me and says ‘this is my favorite memory of a picnic.
Heart melted.
I leave simple notes that let my kids know I love them and am thinking about them.
How about the “clean” eating mom? I pack classic lunches…water to drink, sandwiches, yogurt/cheese (my daughter loves her babybels, she calls them “baby cheese”), chips/crackers, fruit and sometimes dessert, all organic, preservative- and artificial stuff-free. My notes are usually simple drawings on napkins for whatever they are into that week… Hearts and flowers for my daughter and Dragons and Star Wars for my son with an I love you. I love to make their lunches as I know one day they will prefer the cafeteria and think homemade lunches are uncool. ???? ????
Her lunch says “here’s the same thing again, because you are such a picky eater you will only tolerate three foods”. Also, be glad Dad didn’t pack it this time! Remember the frozen salmon burger next to the applesauce that wasn’t in a separate container?!
My daughter’s lunchbox says that I am lazy but I like things to be cute! Her lunch box is adorable with her name embroidered on it but inside is Uncrustables because I am too lazy to make a real PB & j. She also loves Babybels…she always says “Mom can I have a baby”
My kids lunchbox says that I try to pack an interesting and healthy lunch.
I hate making lunch, but I hate paying for school lunch more. I’m doing better than I give myself credit for doing. A mother’s love…
My daughter’s school provides lunch. So she never takes a lunch so it says I work and I am thrifty because I am not paying for 2 lunches. That makes me sound horrible, but she loves it,
Our 2-year-old’s daycare provides breakfast, lunch and snack – gotta love that! Some weekends though I go into a baking frenzy and daycare gets Monday morning treats.
Babybels are perfect for Halloween – and I (sometimes) get a thankful nod from the other rents for not bring in sugary treats or candy. 😉
We don’t have to pack lunches yet (daycare and preschool provide food/snacks), but when we do pack a lunch or picnic, it says “Mom and Dad are NOT prepared for this bag lunch thing and threw in whatever they found in the cupboard.’ Everything in the house needs some sort of prep or is considered a treat.
My kids aren’t quite in first grade yet but I love Babybel cheese because my 4 year old insists on opening it which of course takes twice as long as it should but it gives me enough time to get something else on her plate before she gets hangry! I will eventually leave them notes which will probably be a mix of gushy love notes and sarcasm . . . you know depending on what time of the month it is!
I left a post-it note on her sandwich bag for the first week of kindergarten then I stopped for the second week for no reason other than she didn’t mention seeing them. Monday morning of the third week, my little girl looked at me with a trembling lip and said, “Mommy, did you stop loving me?” All I could do was stare at her when she continued, “Because when I started kindergarten you left me these notes (she saved them ALL) and the cafeteria lady read them to me everyday. But now you don’t and I’m so sad!” So, clearly, my lunch box packing says EPIC MOM FAIL! Also, she will get a note everyday through college from now on.
Since my husband starts later than me, he’s now in charge of making lunch for our 4 year old. He makes her the same exact lunch everyday, but she eats it all so “if it ain’t broken why fix it”.
Well my daughter can’t read yet, but I always draw a picture note with her lunch and I love food puns. My last one was a drawing of sushi (her favorite) and soy sauce, which read, “I’m soy into you.” I figured a teacher would read it to her and she thought it was hilarious. I’m wondering if she will still find my little puns funny when she’s older!
My kids get a standard “I ❤️ you” post it every once in a while. I keep on their toes! ????
My kids lunchbox always says I am way too competitive and always think I’m being judged. I always want to leave the best note, cook or create the coolest lunch and send it in the best container. I am also stupid enough to think this matters to any school aged kid??? I drive myself crazy.
My kid’s lunchbox says ‘I will always do my best for you’.
My kids’ lunch boxes usually say “Mommy remembered at 10pm to pack our lunch but she forgot we were out of everything.”
I’m the don’t look a gift horse in the mouth mom; our school offers free lunch so we just go with that!
Leftovers all the way! And sometimes just some chicken nuggets, crackers, and fruit. I know he will eat it and that is what I care about. And no note, he is only 4.
I try to pack healthy things – fruit, veggies, protein, yogurt, cheese, milk box – in everyone’s lunch, but I can’t help but slip a little sweet treat in as well. I guess that is a reflection on how I try to live my life, do mainly the right thing but have a little fun too!
My four boys’s lunch boxes say ‘healthy and balanced’ on Mondays but, by Friday, they scream ‘mommy is sick of packing lunches this week’!
I think my son’s lunchbox says that I’m a mommy who cares but not over-the-top caring. On some days, my kindergartener gets Star Wars-shaped mini sandwiches. On other days, I throw in an animal-shaped pick to eat his cut-up fruit. My son is learning how to read so I just started putting short notes on post-its in his lunchbox. I try my best to make lunch fun but I refuse to be that mom who creates a gourmet artistic masterpiece out of all-organic ingredients. He knows I love him and that he’s lucky to have good and that’s all that matters!
*food
So bad at checking before posting!
my sons lunch shows that that mommy is letting him have some independence and that mommy got tired of hearing” I don’t want that or I was still hungry” !
Now I pack the main part (with approval) and he packs the rest. A fruit or veggie and a healthy snack. We don’t have junk food in the house so I don’t worry about his lunch being full of garbage and it teaches him not only responsibility but how to eata balanced meal
My kid is too young to have a lunchbox yet, but my lunch box as a kid was very telling. My dad regularly packed weird combinations of things like peanut-butter and jelly on pumpernickel bread and servings of the fancy frozen deserts at restaurants. This indicated three things: 1) my dad’s culinary standards are very low/weird, 2) he brought home a lot of samples from work (he was a food salesman) and 3) I was too lazy to pack my own lunch.
I think as my son gets older, his lunchbox will depend on whether I pack it or my husband does. If it’s me, it will be lots of homemade, slightly quirky things that will probably be vaguely embarrassing. If it’s my husband, it will be a standard sandwich with relatively healthy but simple stuff that is neither cool or uncool, along with the occasional packaged junk as a treat that I wouldn’t allow.
On the topic of Babybels, my favorite memory of them is backpacking through Europe and digging them out of the bottom of my backpack when we were a bit desperate on food. They can last unrefrigerated for a very long time!
I now feel ashamed. I’ve never packed my children a lunchbox as well-made as these.
Reading the experience alone makes me want to gobble up my sandwich twice as fast.
But after sometime, they decided on getting the services of a management consultant in the person of Manuel C.
You can also take a look online and search for free
KFC coupons. Offering an occasional specialty wine from a regional winery could compliment the national supplier.
Conserving some dollars on eating out at Mc – Donald’s is at all times wonderful and it is superior to know that
these coupons are not tricky at all to obtain and print.
I have a kid in junior kindergarten, and I am the classic mom.
For my sixth grader, we say thank God for Hot Lunch Mondays.
It sure is nice to know that lunch can be fun by putting a notes on your kid’s lunch box from time to time. We want our kids to want to eat certain foods such as vegetables, and not consider trading them for chips. I’ll definitely make use of this technique. We’ll also consider getting collectible lunch boxes for them so that they will be more excited to eat what is inside.