I was very happy with the Land's End backpack and lunchbox for my DD. I got them both on sale so the price was great too.

For food storage, we mostly used the containers from easylunchboxes.com and the Lunch Cube - I highly recommend both. I also got a couple of bento box sets from Groupon, but they were a total fail - hard to open and not practical for what I was packing her each day. I pack mostly dry foods - sandwiches, crackers & cheese, bagels, pizza, occasional pasta with parmesan, and then assorted veggies and fruit, so spills haven't been an issue for me, but I have to say my recommendations are not spill-proof. For water, I am still looking for a good, non leaking reusable bottle. Good luck!

My kids use whatever insulated bag is pink or purple and has a design they like - flowers or Hello Kitty - mostly from Target. Our backpacks were spur of the moment items from Whole Foods and they are very cute but not high mountain backpack sturdy. Wash 'em on gentle with detergent and air dry once in a while. We also like the kid sized wide mouth thermoses for hot lunch items like spaghetti, mac n cheese, soup etc. Ziploc tupperware for fragile or messy food. A frozen juice box or water bottle keeps it cold.

My DD has had a PBK backpack for almost three years and it still looks great! She uses it every day. I dont know how it has held up so well. We also use a PBK lunch box. Finishing up our first school year with it and it is in great shape - no stink, very roomy (I also send a water bottle every day), etc.

Our LL Bean backpacks look almost brand new after being used in kindergarten and now finishing first grade.

OP, these Japanese lunch containers are totally cute and a little off the beaten path. I haven't tried them out for myself though:

http://www.mysweetmuffin.com/category/Lunch-boxes-and-bags/c29

Anonymous wrote:OP here -- THANK YOU everyone for all these wonderful ideas.

The http://www.easylunchboxes.com look really great. For the PP who uses them, do they fit in a PBK or LLBean lunchbox?

The bags the Easylunchboxes site sells are pretty boring and I'd like to get something a little more fun. The containers look so easy though!

Thanks again.

I'm sure they would--they fit in a Garnet Hill lunchbox and a generic Target lunchbox equally well, along with a cold-pak and a drink with a little room to spare.

I got this set-up. I kept the lunchbox for the adults, and sent the lock and locks to school for my dd in K. I put goldfish in one, pepperoni's in another square and shredded cheese in the third. She hated it and said it all mixed together and begged me not to send them anymore. Oh well. I also sent her with milk at first, but she requested water. The K day is very busy, and my dd wasn't having enough water to drink. I put one refillable bottle of water in her lunchbox, and another bottle of water in the side pouch of her backpack, and she uses the 2nd water bottle at snack time. In K she was becoming constipated at first because of the lack of water and because she did not like going BM at school.

http://www.amazon.com/Lock-Square-Lunch-3-piece-Container/dp/B009JHY1LE/ref=sr_1_17?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368549685&sr=1-17&keywords=lock+and+lock+food+storage+containers

My dd also said that she isn't allowed to go to the water fountain. They keep the class moving quickly and don't always have time for 29 kids to stand at the water fountain for a drink.

I got my son a backpack at the Pottery Barn outlet for kinder, and it's still in perfect condition. I'm so impressed with the quality. As for the lunchbox I got my son a cheapo Lego minifigure lunchbox that he adores. It's held up great, and I just wipe it out with a Clorox wipe every few days: http://i.ebayimg.com/t/LEGO-BLUE-MINIFIGURE-MINI-FIGURE-LUNCH-BOX-BAG-NEW-WITH-TAG-/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/$T2eC16d,!yUE9s6NFm47BP+zFIfNyg~~60_35.JPG

I have several different Bento type boxes that I use for lunches. My favorite is the Sassy On the Go Feeding Set. I've been using it for the past two years, and it fits my son's lunch perfectly.

OP here -- THANK YOU everyone for all these wonderful ideas.

The http://www.easylunchboxes.com look really great. For the PP who uses them, do they fit in a PBK or LLBean lunchbox?

The bags the Easylunchboxes site sells are pretty boring and I'd like to get something a little more fun. The containers look so easy though!

Thanks again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LL Bean lunchboxes. I put mine in the washing machine about once a month, throwing some non-chlorine bleach in the load.
Ours has held up great for one year. Would be on year 2 but our first one was taken at summer camp.

PP here. I had no idea you could machine wash those lunch boxes! I'll try it at the end of the school year to see if it works (in case it does fall apart!).

Yes! Wash away! We've used ours for 3+ years, starting with bottles for daycare, which spilled once in a while. It's still pretty new-looking. Ours generally air dries overnight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've used these for two years and they have held up great, very reasonably priced (4 for $14.00) and I just throw them in the dishwasher every night.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/

How long does it take to make up some of those fancy lunches? I have 4 kids that I pack lunch for, already it takes me nearly 1/2 hour to do everything...I can't imagine how long it would take each morning to cut all the fruits and veggies in fancy shapes.

I don't make fancy ones! Those people are crazy. Sometimes I'll cut the sandwiches into a dinosaur but that's about it. One of mine doesn't eat bread so I usually pack some variation of crackers-cheese-sliced turkey or etc for her, put a treat in the smallest square, fruit in the next smallest. I find the boxes really convenient and fast, set 3 up every morning and start tossing stuff in while i make breakfast, then put the lids on and go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've used these for two years and they have held up great, very reasonably priced (4 for $14.00) and I just throw them in the dishwasher every night.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/

How long does it take to make up some of those fancy lunches? I have 4 kids that I pack lunch for, already it takes me nearly 1/2 hour to do everything...I can't imagine how long it would take each morning to cut all the fruits and veggies in fancy shapes.

I wash/cut fruit and veggies in bulk twice a week or so. Then things are all ready to eat in the fridge for breakfast and dinner sides as well as for packed lunches.

I listen to audio books in my phone while I prep. It's "me time."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP didn't say a special drink. She just said "drink." My kids take bottles of water which must fit in their lunchboxes. Geez. Lighten up.

You send them with disposable water bottles everyday??

Why all the criticism about drinks on this thread? Such a weird reason for hostility!

BTW, we use a reusable water bottle.

Anonymous wrote:We've used these for two years and they have held up great, very reasonably priced (4 for $14.00) and I just throw them in the dishwasher every night.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/

How long does it take to make up some of those fancy lunches? I have 4 kids that I pack lunch for, already it takes me nearly 1/2 hour to do everything...I can't imagine how long it would take each morning to cut all the fruits and veggies in fancy shapes.

We've used these for two years and they have held up great, very reasonably priced (4 for $14.00) and I just throw them in the dishwasher every night.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/