15 Gift Ideas for the Bento Box Lover

Are you really into packing lunches? Still struggling to come up with ideas when your loved ones ask for a few ideas for you for Christmas?

No worries! I’ve combed the web to find some of the coolest, cutest, and most practical bento-packing gear. Whether you’re thinking you’d like to start bento-ing or you’ve got hundreds of lunches under your belt (literally or figuratively!), I’ve got some fun ideas for you!

Stocking Stuffers:

If it will fit in a bento box, it will fit in a stocking, right?

	Alphabet Picks – $3.50/pack Alphabet picks are a fun, versatile, colorful addition to a bento box that work for boys, girls and grown-ups. Spell out a message in a sandwich or poke an initial into some grapes. Each set comes with one of each letter, so be sure to buy at least two sets for maximum spelling flexibility!
	CuteZcute Animal Palz Mini Sandwich and Egg Press – $11.99 CuteZCute offers adorable, multi-use bento products and the latest addition to their line-up is pretty awesome. Use this set to cut and stamp sandwiches, mold eggs, or make cookies. Four interchangeable plates let you switch between panda, monkey, sheep and bat characters.
	Bento/Sushi Pencil Pouch – $10.00 Express your bento obsession outside the lunch box with this cute little pouch. Use it in your purse or backpack as an organizer, or fill it with a napkin and flatware and tuck it into a lunch bag.
	LunchBots Dips Condiment Containers – 3 for $19.99 LunchBots makes my absolute favorite dip containers. They’re large enough for a generous serving of dip or salad dressing, but not so large that they don’t fit inside a bento box. The screw-on lids are easy to open and close and the do not leak! At $19.99 per set, they’re just a little more than I usually spend on bento gear for myself, so they’re a terrific gift.
	Casabella Standard Muffin Cups – $7.39/set of 6 Silicone baking cups are a bento-packing staple. They bright colors add visual appeal and they are practical for separating wet foods from dry foods. Round cups are a good all-around shape, but consider buying square, rectangle, triangle or flower shapes as well.
	Star and Heart Egg Molds – $3.99 Shaped hard-boiled eggs are a bento box classic and the molds used to make them are a bargain. Add a heart or star to a lunch for a simultaneous hit of protein and cute-osity.

Lunch Box Idea Books:

Because no matter how many great ideas you have, you could always use a few more.

	Everyday Bento: 50 Cute and Yummy Lunches to Go – $9.45 (preorder) My first book, Everyday Bento, is scheduled to hit store shelves the February! Packed with 50 all new bento lunches, step-by-step instructions and over 600 photos it’s a bento-packing crash course you can hold in your hand. Buy it now to lock in the lowest pre-order price, then give the bento-packer on your list (or yourself) a card to let them know it’s on its way!
	Weelicious Lunches – $20.78 I’ve been cooking my way through Weelicious Lunches since I got my copy last September and so far almost everything I’ve made has been a hit with my boys. The recipes are simple and appealing to children and adults and you’re sure to add at least a few of these to your lunch packing repertoire.
	Beating the Lunch Box Blues – $11.36 Another lunch box idea book that packed with inspiration! Flip through the zillions of photos in this book and you’re sure to find ideas for your mid-day meal.
	Yum-Yum Bento Box – $12.83 This book is a few years old now, but it’s a classic. A lot of the lunches inside are classically Japanese but even if these types of foods aren’t part of your day to day diet, you’ll find lots of cute characters to inspire you.

Splurge Gifts:

These are the things you want, but you just can’t justify buying for yourself.

	PlanetBox Launch – $74.95 PlanetBox lunch boxes might just be the most coveted of all the bento boxes. Sturdy, sleek and durable they are a great choice for lunches at work or school.
	monbento Sakura Bento Box – $39.99 If I were taking a lunch to work every day, this is the box I would be using. I like packing our monbento box for our kids, but the pretty blue box with the cherry blossom decoration would mark this one as mine, mine, mine! While you’re splurging, throw in monbento’s set of square egg molds and a pack of silicone dividers and baking molds.
	Shinzi Katoh Paddington Bear Bento Box – $24.00 Shinzi Katoh is a design icon in Japan and his adorable designs top many bento boxes. This one features Paddington Bear rendered in his signature whimsical style.
	Geometric Shape Cutter, Set of 24 – $15.62 Sure, you don’t need rectangle, square and hexagon cutters — a knife can make those cuts no problem — but having them sure makes life easier! A basic set like this can be used in countless ways to create fun food art.
	House-shaped Bento Box – $24.99 It’s a bento box! Shaped like a house! How can you NOT want it?!

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