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[Last Bento of Preschool Life] Surprise Your Child! Character Bento and Side Dish Ideas
Many parents probably feel that making bento lunches was a challenge during their child’s time at the preschool/kindergarten.
You’ve been preparing lunches with your child in mind, thinking about nutrition and color balance.
Once they move up to elementary school, there will be school lunches, so bento-making can take a break for a while.
For the last days of preschool/kindergarten life, let’s make a wonderful bento that will be a fun surprise.
Even if it’s a bit clumsy, it’s okay as long as it’s filled with a parent’s love.
Try packing a bento themed around your child’s favorite character or with stylish side dishes.
It will surely become a memorable keepsake.
[Last Bento of Preschool Life] Surprise Your Child! Character Bento and Side Dish Ideas (1–10)
Thank-You Bento
How about making a “Thank-You Bento” to celebrate the end of kindergarten or nursery school? It’s easy to make! First, cut roasted seaweed (nori) into the five characters of “arigatou” (thank you).
Next, make small rice balls and stick one cut-out character onto each.
Using tweezers makes it easier to place the letters, so it’s recommended.
If you use molds for the rice balls, you can make various shapes and improve the presentation! It’s a lunchbox that conveys your gratitude—thank you for eating so well.
Cute rolled omelette
Tamagoyaki is a side dish that kids love in their lunchboxes.
This time, we’ll introduce cute-looking tamagoyaki in various shapes! Once you add oil to the frying pan, cook over low heat to prevent burning.
For the star shape, the key is to mold it while it’s still hot.
For the apple shape, roll it up with kamaboko inside.
Using edamame for the leaf part boosts the nutritional value even more.
For the flower shape, decorate it with ham and green onions.
We can’t wait to see the kids’ reactions when they open their lunchboxes!
broccoli bouquet
A broccoli bouquet is perfect for the last bento of kindergarten life.
It will be a lunchbox that conveys your gratitude for all the times they’ve eaten your bentos and your congratulations on their graduation.
Moisten a gyoza wrapper, shape it into a cone, place aluminum foil inside to keep its shape, and bake it in the oven for 3 minutes.
Put boiled broccoli into the gyoza wrapper and use mayonnaise to attach the toppings.
Prepare cute, colorful items like flower-shaped chips or bubu arare (tiny rice crackers).
Lollipop-style candy side dish
A lollipop-style candy here means a swirl lollipop.
Let’s pack some cute candy-style sides in your bento! First, use a peeler to slice fish sausage thinly.
Cut sliced cheese to the same width as the fish sausage.
Arrange the cheese on top of the fish sausage.
Warm it lightly in the microwave, and when the cheese is slightly melted, roll it up tightly and let it cool.
Shape cut ham into a bow and secure the center with a toothpick—when you stick the toothpick into the “candy,” it looks extra cute.
Give it a try!
Song ‘Mom’s Bento’
To everyone doing their best to make lunches for their children, we’d like to introduce the song “Mom’s Bento”! This song expresses the feelings of children in kindergarten and nursery school toward the person who makes their lunch.
The kids who used to cry at drop-off because they couldn’t leave their moms are finally graduating.
Through many events, they connected with friends and teachers and grew stronger.
Life at the school will surely be remembered together with the memories of the delicious homemade lunches their families prepared.
A bento with a letter
On the last bento day, how about slipping in a note to your child that says, “Thank you for eating what I made”? If you put it on top of the food, it might slow their chopsticks, so it could be better to wrap the note in plastic and hide it at the bottom of the lunch box.
You won’t be able to see their immediate reaction when they find it, but they’ll probably tell you all about it when they get home.
Including a love-filled note sounds like it would be a delightful surprise!
Anpanman bento
For kids who love Anpanman, why not try arranging several Anpanman faces with different expressions? It’s simple—just line up round rice balls, so it’s a recommended idea.
If you mix salmon furikake into the rice, it gives it an Anpanman-like color.
For the red nose, use a halved cherry tomato or red bell pepper; for the cheeks, use carrot; and for the eyes and mouth, use nori—it’s easy.
By changing the nori pieces, you can make different Anpanman expressions.
Here’s hoping they finish their bento to the very last bite!