One of my favorite organizing solutions for the school year is my lunch bin, something I blogged about a few years ago. It is still going strong and making the everyday task of lunch prep a notch simpler and a notch more enjoyable.

One of the items I have tucked inside my lunch bin is a supply of lunchbox notes. I found these “lunch mail” notes when my son was starting kindergarten. I fell in love with the idea of surprising him with a little extra something in his lunchbox. I didn’t put a note in every single day, which added to the element of surprise and made note days even more special.

Lunch mail

(Photo from the compendium inc. website)

Here are some ideas and resources for stocking up on your own lunchbox notes.

Buy pre-made lunch notes.

I found these super-cute lunch notes at Starbucks this summer, on clearance. They already have messages printed on them – but there’s room to also add something of your own, if you like.

Lunchbox notes

I noticed they were made by Compendium, so I checked out their site, and found they carry the lunch mail notes I originally purchased years ago, plus a variety of others like the “You’re incredible” series, and “dream big” and “I’m proud of you.” These are seriously cute. They’re such a great way to send your love to school with your child in his or her lunchbox–which can be great therapy for Mom and child alike.

Make your own notes ahead of time.

If you’re up for a creative project, pull together some basic craft supplies and make a few custom-made notes before school (a.k.a. the busy season!) begins. Use up some of your cardstock and patterned paper scraps, and some of your almost-gone-but-I-can’t-throw-them-away-yet letter stickers or phrase stickers. Your kids won’t care if their notes don’t use up-to-the-minute supplies, so it’s a terrific opportunity to breathe new life into some of your older supplies. If you don’t scrapbook, you can still get in on the fun. How about finding fun words and phrases in magazines and make some ransom note inspired lunchbox notes. That sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Create your own lunch notes

Create notes on the fly.

At the end of the day, the truly important thing here is sending a note to school with your child. This can be as simple as jotting down a quick “I love you” or “Good luck on your test today” on any piece of paper you happen to have around. So if you’re short on time or don’t want to purchase pre-made notes (or can’t choose just one style because they’re all too cute!) consider this last option. Simply corral together some small pieces of paper and some markers, and stow them with your lunch-making supplies, along with any purchased or custom-made notes. You’ll be ready to spread a dose of cheer any time the mood strikes!

lunch note supplies

Do you have any ideas to add? I’d love to hear from you!