Ghosts and pumpkins too! A collection of bento box ideas perfect for Halloween

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
lighterutatane
A person from the melodic hardcore boom generation who loves music, photography, and eating. I’ve been going to live houses for over 20 years. I’m at the age where summer festivals are starting to feel tough physically. I sometimes try shooting live photos and videos for MVs. I’m not great at English, so I often listen to straightforward Japanese rock that hits directly, but if someone recommends something, I’ll listen to anything—Western or Japanese—broadly and casually. I like cooking while listening to music; it’s a nice way to relieve stress.

How about making a bento that’s perfect for Halloween?A bento featuring Halloween-only motifs like pumpkins, ghosts, and black cats will put both kids and adults in a festive mood the moment they open it.With a little creativity, familiar ingredients like nori, cheese, and sausages can be transformed into a wonderful Halloween bento!If you brainstorm ideas together with the kids as you make it, the time spent making the bento will become a special memory, too.Here, we’ll introduce Halloween bento ideas that are cute to look at and easy to make.

Ghosts and pumpkins too! A collection of recommended bento ideas for Halloween (21–30)

Halloween bento of Chiikawa and Usagi

Dressed in a pumpkin costume with long rabbit ears, this Chiikawa bunny bento is an adorable Halloween lunch that will make yours stand out.

Sprinkle soy-based soup seasoning (mentsuyu) over the rice and mix, then shape the face, body, and rabbit ears in a balanced way.

Once arranged in the lunch box, place a tamagoyaki with slits cut at the edges over it to form the pumpkin hat and the body’s costume.

Fix the rabbit ears in place with toasted pasta, and add three-dimensional detail by decorating with snap peas and ham.

It’s ready to serve!

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Chiikawa Wizard Bento

Let’s spice up Halloween by making a one-of-a-kind cute Chiikawa wizard bento! Put rice in plastic wrap and shape the base for Chiikawa.

For the body and head, prepare nori with small cuts at the edges, wrap it around, and use the plastic wrap to smooth and form the shape from the outside.

Before adding the side dishes, place the Chiikawa base in the lunch box to secure enough space.

For the parts, use toasted spaghetti as the core to attach the arms, legs, and hat—pin them in place so they won’t fall apart.

For the wizard’s wand, use a star-shaped toothpick to decorate it cutely.

For the signature rosy cheeks, use slices of ham to finish it off adorably.

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Hanamaru Ghost

Hanamaru Obake, a Sanrio character, is a cute ghost perfect for Halloween that gives you a flower-mark for your hard work.

Place rice on plastic wrap, add your fillings, then shape it into a triangle to form the body.

Make the ears, hands, and feet with rice and secure them with toasted pasta.

Finally, use imitation crab sticks to create a red “pen” for drawing the flower mark, adjust the shape, and attach the facial features like the eyes and mouth to finish.

Drawing the cheeks with ketchup makes Hanamaru Obake even cuter.

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Hello Kitty character bento

@sn00py0501
Hello Kitty, Halloween versionHalloween bento How-to video #CharacterBento Bento #HALLOWEEN2023 #halloween Simple character bento Hello Kitty Hello Kitty #HelloKittyBento Go viral
♬ Halloween · cute horror song – PeriTune

A super-popular Hello Kitty bento for the Halloween season.

Put rice in plastic wrap and shape the parts separately: the face, ears, and hands.

Attach the ears to the upper left and right of the face and secure them with the wrap so they blend in.

Stick nori (seaweed) with slits cut at the edges onto the Kitty base.

When attaching it, the key is to position the cut-out section so it sits at the center of the face.

Place it in the bento box, add side dishes around it, punch out pumpkin shapes from boiled carrots, attach the hand parts, and it’s done.

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Halloween bento with sausage rice balls

@tomochu15
Halloween bento with sausage rice balls 🎃Halloween bento #CharacterBento #OnigiriBento Seria #halloween #bento
Halloween · cute horror song (191109) – PeriTune

These rice balls are made extra appetizing with aromatic, pan-seared bologna sausage.

Use bologna, which is thicker than regular sausages, and slice it into rounds.

Cut out shapes like pumpkins and ghosts with cookie cutters, then use a straw to punch holes for the eyes and mouth.

The trick is to flatten the straw to make it oval.

Pan-fry the shaped bologna slices.

Stick nori (seaweed) on the back of the bologna, then place it on top of the rice balls.

These easy ghost-themed sausage onigiri are simple to make—give them a try!

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Nakajima Junko