This shop has been compensated by Chobani. All opinions are mine alone. #GimmiesFun
The school year is only halfway over, and I’m already tired of making the same ole’ lunches for the kids every day. If I’m tired of making them, then I know that they have to be tired of eating them! Packing school lunch has its own set of challenges. Per school rules, my boys are not old enough to use the school microwaves yet, leaving cold lunch choices their only options. My daughter is old enough to heat foods in the microwave, but her picky palate still leaves her food requests to a selective group. I pack the kids a protein, a fruit, and either a vegetable or a dairy item each day in their lunchboxes. While the basic items stay the same, I have found a few ways to make digging into the daily lunchbox a bit more exciting for them.
#1 One way to make lunch a little more exciting is by taking advantage of easy to pack lunch items. The new Chobani® Gimmies™ yogurts for kids at Walmart are a tasty, non-GMO, yogurt mix-in product especially for kids five and up. What kid doesn’t like mixing up their food, right?!? Chobani® Gimmies™ yogurts contain no artificial preservatives or sweeteners and are packaged in such a way that makes them a nice fit for a lunchbox. My kids like the Chobani® Gimmies™ Poppin’ Cotton Candy the best, but the Chobani® Gimmies™ yogurts come in a variety of flavors like Choco Chunk Cookie Dunk, Ooey Gooey S’more, and Cookies & Cream Crush.
The container is easy for kids to open (teachers will rejoice, right?). Add a spoon and a few other items, and a lunch box is ready!
Find Chobani® Gimmies™ yogurts in the refrigerated dairy section at Walmart.
#2 Over the holidays, I surprised my daughter by packing in a holiday-themed lunch box joke each day. It excited her to open her lunch and share the joke with her friends. My boys are not quite at the reading level for jokes, and they are still at the age where sentiments from mom are nice, so these free printable sweet lunchbox notes are perfect for them. The notes are simple enough that they can read them. Adding one in randomly throughout the week creates a sweet little surprise at lunch, making this another way to make lunches a bit more exciting.
To download these for yourself, right click on the image below to save the printable to your computer. Print it on your home printer. Cut the individual cards. For longevity, laminate the sheet before cutting to make the cards easy to wipe and reuse.
#3 With four kids, the saying, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time” definitely rings true. We purchase fruit in bulk, and one large quantity purchase of a fruit item lasts about a week. Each week, a different kiddo gets to choose the “fruit of the week.” That fruit makes an appearance in lunchboxes each day. The following week, a different kiddo gets to pick their favorite fruit. For families with less kids, purchase fruit in smaller quantities and allow them to choose a “fruit of the day.”
Surely I’m not the only parent who finds the limitations of school lunch packing daunting! What are your tips and tricks for adding variety in school lunch boxes?
Take advantage of Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup for those busy school weeks, and check out more Chobani® Gimmies™ yogurt products here!
Those are super cute. I miss those days! I used to write notes to my daughter, she loved them! Until about two or three years ago, she kept them but they have been thrown away now.
What a fun idea you have come up with and printable are awesome. My daughter will love doing this for her school age children.
These are the sweetest notes. I need to make some for my kids. Granted, they are older and will probably be mortified, but I don’t care. I did try these new Chobani flavors and liked them. So did my daughter! We loved the birthday cake flavor.
How adorable are those!! I’m not a kid but I would love something like in my lunchbox too.
I love putting notes and little jokes in my kids lunches. These printable ones are super cute. My kids will be getting some for sure.
I have not seen those in the store yet but when we do I’m going to buy some. I think it’s always fun to have a little lunchbox note in their lunch. It makes kids know how much they are loved and how much we think of them. It’s the small things that count.
I love the lunchbox notes and the yogurt looks good too. I like that they are easy to pack and they look like such fun and tasty treats.
My kids and I LOVE Chobani Flips so I bet they would really love these new Chobani Gimmies. That Poppin’ Cotton Candy sounds like such a fun flavor. Yummy!
Those are such cute little printables. Things like this are what remind the kids how special they are to us.
There is something about adding a little fun into a packed lunch and these look like really sweet printables and some fun yoghurts to pop in with a sweet side!
Too cute…I love all of the notes. My kids are grown but it would have been great to have printables like these back in the day!
My girls usually eat school lunches, but when I pack them something occasionally, I love to throw in a little note.
I make my lunch for work every day, I may have to look into these Chobani yummies for myself! LOL!
A little note is always a great idea. We really like Chobani fruit on the bottom yogurt, and I bet these are a big hit with younger kids.
That was a very good idea as a mom I love to think what they’re reaction reading the sweet notes.
I used to slip similar sweet notes for my kids when they were little. I wonder if they will still appreciate it now that they are bigger?
Those lunchbox notes are indeed sweet! My son eats at the cafeteria. But those Chobani Gimmies would be a perfect afternoon snack when he gets home from school.
Love those printable, yes sweet lunch box notes are always big hit will kids. they love it. I am going to download it.