A Variety of Valentine Bentos

These bentos were made in the days leading up to Valentine's day.  The kids each got a similar lunch, even if only one is pictured.

I learned a valuable lesson with this bento, press the design before filling the sandwich!  Lunch contains rwo PB&J hearts, grapes, fruit snacks and a small chocolate heart.  I am sure there was something else in her lunch bag too...

 Lunches this day consisted of a a cheese sandwich on a sandwich thin, strawberries and chocolate covered pretzels.

This bento contains chunks of roasted chicken, a slice of homemade bread with butter, a jello heart and my guess is a tasty treat under the heart wrapper!

Sorry for the blurry pic! Lunch here was half a banana (decorated with a sticker), peanut butter sandwiches with heart fruit leather pieces, chocolate pretzels and a chocolate heart.  The kids also got a yogurt. Given the amount of sugar in this lunch, I am guessing this was Valentine's Day!   

Fishy Bento

Identical bentos made in two-tier boxes   The bottom tier consists of a sandwich round with a cheese fish, the word "fish" in gummy letters, and some teriyaki meatballs.  The top tier has strawberries, grapes and goldfish.

Panda Cookie!

Dinosaurs and Pandas. While not technically Lunar New Year themed, my kids enjoyed it!  Lunch consists of a PB & J sandwich, pretzels, strawberries and a panda cookie from Sogo Bakery.

Lunar New Year Bento

Gung Hay Fat Choy!  Happy Year of the Dragon!

I tried to make a cute dragon bento for the first school lunch of the New Year.  Unfortunately, it looked more like a hungry caterpillar!  I guess that is what I get for deciding to do a dragon at 11 pm the night before.... Next year, maybe I will plan better.  Or maybe I will wait for an easier zodiac sign.  Dog, rabbit....anyone....

 Anxious Dragon

The kids' lunches are identical.  They consist of a deconstructed "dragon" cheese sandwich, a strawberry, a clementine and a fortune cookie.  Below the red napkin is an applesauce pouch.

Perturbed Dragon

Christmas Bentos

Rudolph cheese sandwich with cheese stars, pretzel antlers and an m&m nose.  Hedgehog sandwich and strawberries.

Candy cane sandwiches made using two kinds of cheese, deli ham, grapes and a little marshmallow snowman. 

Christmas tree cheese and crackers or hawaiian bread.  Teriyaki meatballs, grapes and Christmas Jello jigglers. 

Cars Playmat

My son wanted a play mat like his sister's farm mat.  So, I made him a quick Cars mat.  Sorry for the crappy picture.  Basically, I used this fabric to sew the roll:

Then I added iron-on fabric pictures of radiator springs. My son showed me where to put the road and the Cozy Cone!  His roll contains three pockets. I had to adjust the size of one pocket to accomodate Mater.

Not the most professional job, but not bad for an hour of sewing!

Halloween Bentos and a cute boy

Some cute Halloween themed bento boxes for the kids.

The faces are ham sandwiches.  The tongue is made of ham and the eyes are marshmallows.  Scrabble Cheez-its, grapes and applesauce with chocolate sprinkles.  The boy did not like the "monster face" sandwich.

Easy Jack-o-Lantern sandwiches.  One is cheese, the other is peanut butter.  I used cutters from Williams-Sonoma.  Also included are grapes, pretzels (which look rather skull-like!) and fruit roll-ups.

Mummy Milk Box - I used electrical tape and googly eyes.

The Cutest little Jellyfish EVER!

Costume was made for under $5.  I bought a kids' cowboy hat from the thrift store.  I covered the hat with bubblewrap and some blue tissue paper.  The tenacles are made from strips of bubblewrap, streamers and metallic ribbon.