Lunch boxes?

[CeliaBowen]

What lunch boxes do your year 1s have? I have promised DD1 a new one (her old one she has had since starting nursery at 13 months!), and I don't know where to start.

I don't want character as she will go off it too quickly.
They leave the lunch boxes outside on a trolley at school.

[Purplevicki]

Ask DD what she would like. Take her shopping and ask her to pick!

[Flopsy28]

Tesco have some nice non-character ones. I got my DD an owl one. Are you aware that your DD will be entitled to school meals from this year? Is that just in England? Anyway, don't buy anything extortionate.

[CeliaBowen]

I am aware of the free school meals, but she will be having packed lunches most of the time. That way I know what she's had to eat in a day - she has to bring home all rubbish and uneaten food, so I will be able to see. She's a tiny eater, and I have a strong feeling she won't really eat at all if she has a cooked meal offered in the day.

vicki I just was after some recommendations about which kinds are better than others. We will probably need to buy online, because of where we live.

[Frikadellen]

We love the Yuu bag ones but they are expensive I admit

[DaisyFlowerChain]

From a schools point of view nothing too bulky. The children seem to favour the rectangle bag type at ours which can be thrown into the washing machine. 99% of them are character based as presumably the children pick.

I'd let your daughter pick, they love showing each other their designs and they are cheap enough to replace if they grow out of the character.

[Purplevicki]

I didn't mean for my comment to sound rude. It's just know that when I was given the opportunity to pick something, I was more likely to use it!

I personally like the sistema range as some of the boxes are divided up into compartment. It's easy to have grapes in one section and cherry tomatoes in another - or whatever you fancy!

[Kim82]

My two girls usually get the smash lunchboxes, my 10 year old has one for when she goes back next week but my 7 year old chose a Frozen character lunchbox this time. I'm impressed you managed to get your dd's lunchbox to last so long, I have to replace them every year as they get manky after a while even with them being put through the washing machine each weekend.

[AugustAngst]

Hard plastic ones are better as you can clean them properly/put them in the dishwasher. The soft squishy ones get food trapped in nooks and crannies and end up smelling horrible. Sistema is a good brand.

[SuedeEffectPochette]

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001ENDDK6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

This one is good. Easy to clean. Opens out flat. You can personalise with stickers etc.

[noramum]

Sistema is good but I find them too restrictive. They are also quite large and don't fit into most cool bags. You still need a cooling solution as they are outside for 3 hours and nothing worse than warm food.

I use these lock & lock boxes in various sizes and a cool bag DD picked, she has Tatty Teddy, I think the only one in her class with one. I looked for a better one for this year but all the ones with a long strap are not good as I can't get the various containers and the bottle into it.

[erin99]

Hungry jungle and skip hop do generic animal ones, but TBH I think a Star Wars, Frozen or Hello Kitty one is more likely to stay in favour and not be considered babyish later on.

I like the squishy sort for being insulating and not having hinges and clips that break when they are dropped. Buy cheaply and expect to replace fairly regularly. Get child to put any messy leftovers in their sandwich wrapping bag, and the lunchbox stays pretty clean.

[ilovepowerhoop]

ds has a soft rectangular Bart Simpson one and dd has the same style with a cat on it. They were bought from the supermarket and were quite cheap. Sandwiches go in a sistema sandwich tub that fits into the bag along with everything else. I'd just let her choose her own.

[Hoppinggreen]

My DD has always has packed lunches and she prefers one where you can open it properly to see what is in it as they are not allowed to take everything out at once so often she can't see what's in the bottom until last if that makes sense?
The fabric ones get mucky and the tim ones dent when dropped so plastic is probably better

[MerryMarigold]

I got a nice Tesco, foil lined one that looks like Cath Kidston for me dd. It folds flat so it's easy to store and I think it was 4.00. It's big enough for a drink and some lunch. My dd is also going into Y1.

[MerryMarigold]

Basically this one but a different pattern which must have been last year's design

[MerryMarigold]

Sorry I'm bombarding you. This is the one!

[MerryMarigold]

cute but pricey

[MrsPnut]

My DD has a green sistema rectangular one with no compartments.

She has her lunch inside it with a small cool pack and it goes in the dishwasher every weekend. It was bought last summer holidays and doesn't need replacing this year.