Wednesday, May 26, 2010

What was on your box?


Last night on Facebook, Lisa Yee asked what everyone had on their lunch boxes when they were a kid. I'm totally into nostalgic stuff like that, so I jumped on the post right away. Pretty soon, I found myself on eBay, searching vintage lunch boxes. Some brought back memories. I went to grade school in the 1970s and lunch boxes were a big deal. It was even more so because I went to a school that didn't have a cafeteria, so we had no choice other than bringing our lunch from home.

Do kids even use lunch boxes today? It's something I haven't looked for in a long time since my kids are homeschooled. I'm sure if they do, they're a lot different than what I used. I'm sure the bags are all insulated and come with cooling packs. The first lunch box I remember was an old metal type. It wasn't anything fancy. It was a simple red plaid design, very much like the one at the bottom of this post. I'm pretty sure I picked it out, but I bet my mom was a big influence with her love for plaid. (I have pictures of me in plaid dresses and pants to prove that.) It's funny when I think about it because I can almost still smell what the inside of those old metal boxes smelled like. It's hard to explain, but I guess some things stay with you forever. Then I remember getting the box in the picture up top with Snoopy. I loved that lunch box! I never had the metal version because that came out in the 60s. By the time I got mine, they had switched to plastic. I think sometime in between the plaid box and the plastic Snoopy dome box, I also had a metal Peanuts lunch box. I don't remember exactly which one, but I'm thinking it was this ...


Reading the replies on Lisa's post was fun. I remembered some of the boxes people mentioned. Some really showed their age though, like me with the older boxes or others saying they had Spice Girls on theirs. I had to laugh when I looked at vintage lunch boxes on eBay and saw things like New Kids On The Block. I guess that was a long time ago for some, but I go way further back than that. How about you? Did you carry a lunch box when you were a kid? Or did you use paper bags? I eventually went to bags, but I'm not sure when that was. I remember when the "Have A Nice Day!" campaign came out and I was so excited about having happy faces on my lunch bags. It's funny the things we remember sometimes ...

14 comments:

  1. Oh my Rena, I had one just like that plaid one in the photo. Thanks for the memory!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had a metal "Emergency!" (TV show) lunch box.

    I had one that was red plastic and had a raised, elaborately detailed picture that spelled out "LOVE" I loved it because you could put a piece of paper over the design and rub a black crayon sideways over the image and then color the resulting rubbing.

    I always wanted (but never had) a Garfield lunchbox because on the thermos there was a picture of him holding his breath in a little circular window like he was inside the thermos. Still cracks me up LOL

    http://www.skooldays.com/images/lb1860.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  3. My kids have those zippered lunch boxes with cool packs.
    I had a metal Superfriends lunch box and then a red Tupperware (boring) lunch box. In high school if I brought lunch, I brown bagged it.
    I could so see you browsing ebay for vintage lunch boxes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rena! I love this question!

    Hmmm...I think I had a strawberry shortcake lunchbox. It was awesomeness. You know, before they made strawberry shortcake all fancy. Like, the original strawberry shortcake. Must go find a picture!

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMG I FOUND IT!
    This was it!

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/45247718/strawberry-shortcake-metal-lunchbox-and

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think it was the Peanuts gang. But I seem to remember brown bagging it for the most of my school life

    ReplyDelete
  7. I didn't have a lunchbox - we all had to eat a hot school dinner in the dining hall. Happy days.

    XX

    ReplyDelete
  8. I forgot to mention that in the 5/6 grade "Pigs in Space" was THE lunchbox to have. Everybody who was anybody had "Pigs in Space" lunchboxes.


    I didn't. lol

    ReplyDelete
  9. Post Lisa Frank lunchbox owner here. I feel like there were unicorns involved. :) Fun post! Especially love the Snoopy box.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don't remember having a lunch box, I think I ate in the cafeteria most of the time. My kids had lunch boxes, I still have them. Two that I remember were Smurfs and GI Joe, can't think of the other ones right now. They were the plastic ones.

    ReplyDelete
  11. No lunchbox. We all walked home from elementary school (these were the days when everybody's mom was home)and in case your mom WASN'T home or we were having a blizzard or it was 92 below (we still had school), you brown-bagged it, because this was also pre- hot lunch. When I was in sixth grade we got a hot lunch program, and forever after, bag lunch was for greasers and those in danger of flunking/dropping out. When my parents wouldn't/couldn't give me lunch money, I spent my allowance on it cuz it was IMPORTANT. (BTW,I did not walk uphill either way. :))

    ReplyDelete
  12. I had a Snoopy one AND a Holly Hobby one--my kids have the insulated lunch bags from Land's End--no one on them.

    ReplyDelete