Lunchbox BONANZA – Day 3!

Packing a healthy and fun lunch is important (see Lunchbox BONANZA – Day 1 and Day 2), but sometimes all a lunchbox needs is a little lovin’ from Mom or Dad’s heart!

Here are SEVEN ways that you can add a little Love Surprise to your child’s lunchbox…

1.  Riddle Surprises – What kid doesn’t enjoy a good riddle or joke?  Add one to their lunchbox by jotting a riddle’s question down on a piece of paper.  Write the question in BIG letters and then on the back of the paper write the answer in smaller print.  Silly riddles like, “Why was the car embarrassed?  Because it had gas!” and, “What word has the most letters in it?  A mailbox!” are sure to bring some giggles to your child’s lunch table!  Check out this site for more fun and clean riddles and jokes!

2.  Picture Surprises – Slip a fun family photo in an envelope and tape the envelope to the inside of your child’s lunchbox.  Write a sweet message on the back of the photo such as, “Do you remember when we ate all that ice cream?  I had so much fun with you on our ice cream shop adventure!”  Or include a picture of your child or pet doing something silly – it’ll be fun for them to show it off to their friends!  To add even more surprise, if you have an I Phone there is an app where you can add cartoon features to pictures!  Check it out here, jazz up your child’s pic and then send it in their lunchbox!  Hilarious!  Another fun idea would be to cut out a pictures of individual family members’ faces.  Tape a flat toothpick to the back of the pic and then stick the pictured toothpick into your child’s pinwheel sandwich!  People Picks!  What a clever surprise!

3.  Entertainment Surprises – In January when all of the “page-a-day” desk calendars with funny cartoons, puzzles, and trivia go on sale – STOCK UP!  On random days throughout the year you can just tear off a page and tuck it into your child’s lunchbox.  They’ll have fun sharing it with other kids during lunch.

4.  Coupon Surprises – Create simple coupons using the ones found here to fill your child’s lunchbox with some blessings!  The chance to stay up late, have a sleepover, get a bear hug, or pick the movie for Family Movie Night…  All you have to do is print them out, cut them out, and stick them in your child’s lunchbox!  (When I was teaching 2nd grade, a mom of one of my students did this.  Words cannot express the absolute JOY and ELATION this little girl had whenever she found a coupon in her lunchbox.  You would have thought she had been given lifetime tickets to Disney World!  Such a simple gesture that left a HUGE stamp of happiness in this child’s life.)

5.  Food Surprises (that are noteworthy) – Wilton came out with a fabulous pack of Food Writers!  You can use these markers to write sweet messages on your child’s food (like bananas, apples, etc.).  Fun things to write would be:  On a banana write, “I love you bunches!”  On an apple write, “You are the apple of my eye!”  Or on anything, “EAT ME!”

6.  Junk Surprises – Here’s a super clever idea if candy is a rare treat in your home.  Stick your child’s favorite candy bar in an envelope and label the envelope Junk Mail.  They will be sure to get a kick out of it!

7.  Love Note Surprises – When it all comes down to it, a simple note is your best way to communicate love to your child.  Check out these fabulous sites for printable love notes…

AlphaMom has adorable printable tags for fruits as well as custom lunchbox notes!
KidPrintables is perfect for sending cute little messages!
Frugal Families has great ones for building your child’s self-esteem!
And at Disney Stationary you can find Disney-themed lunchbox notes!  They have everything from Wall-E to Hannah Montana!

Or just write a sweet personal message on a napkin and make your child’s day! 🙂

Happy Lunchbox Bonanza-ing! 🙂