Packed lunches are one of those things that sound very straightforward until you’re doing them several times a week.
You need things that don't leak, things the kids can actually open, somewhere for the fruit, somewhere for the main lunch, something to keep it cold and ideally nothing that creates another complicated washing-up situation.
I’ve tried a few different bits over the years, and these are the things we actually use.
Nothing particularly revolutionary.
Just practical.
The water bottles
We have a few different Ion8 bottles and I really like them.
They're easy for the kids to use, they don't require me to wrestle with some complicated lid every morning, and they've been very practical for school and days out.
The company also makes stainless-steel versions now, which I personally prefer to plastic.
For me, this is one of those things where the less I have to think about it, the better.
Why they’ve stayed: practical, easy to use and we’ve ended up buying more than one.The little stainless-steel snack pots
These round little containers are brilliant for all the extra bits that don't really belong loose inside a lunch bag.
I mainly use them for fruit and little snacks.
They're particularly handy when I want to give them something small alongside the main lunch without turning the whole bag into a collection of random plastic wrappers.
They're simple, reusable and they stack away nicely when they're not being used.
Why they’ve stayed: perfect size for fruit and extra snacks without taking up loads of room.The bento lunch box
This is the one I use for the main meal.
Sandwiches work obviously, but it is also really handy when they want something like leftover pasta from dinner the night before.
The separate sections mean I can put the main food in one part and add a few different sides without everything becoming one mysterious lunch-box mixture by lunchtime.
It's just a very practical size for children and I like having everything together in one container.
Why it’s stayed: works for sandwiches, leftovers and the sort of mixed little lunches kids actually eat.The stainless-steel lunch box with divider
I also like having a more straightforward stainless-steel lunch box with a movable divider.
It gives you a bit more flexibility depending on what you're packing that day.
Some days you want lots of little sections.
Some days you just want somewhere for a sandwich and a bit of fruit without making lunch unnecessarily complicated.
Why it’s stayed: simple, flexible and useful when you don't need a full bento setup.The insulated lunch bags
Both kids have their own insulated lunch bags.
We have a dinosaur one and a pink cat one, which also has the benefit of making it very obvious which one belongs to which child.
They fit the lunch containers, snacks and bottle nicely, and I like that everything is just together rather than disappearing into the depths of a school bag.
I add a couple of small freezer blocks and the food stays nicely cool.
Why they’ve stayed: easy for the kids to carry and big enough for everything without being enormous.The little freezer blocks
These mini freezer blocks are one of those very boring purchases that just work.
Because they're small, I can fit them around the lunch boxes rather than one huge freezer pack taking up half the bag.
I keep a few in the freezer, grab a couple in the morning and stick them into the insulated bags.
Very little thought required.
Which is exactly what I want at that time of day.
Why they’ve stayed: small enough to fit around everything and they keep the bags cool without wasting space.