Little I has just gone up to two full days at preschool, which brings with it a very exciting development…packed lunches!

In the run-up to the new school terms we had the following conversation several times over:

Little I: “I’m so excited to go back to preschool”.

Me: “What bit are you most excited about?”

Little I: “Eating there!”

For my food-loving daughter, a new lunchbox has been top of her priority list for quite some time. I told her she needed to earn it through good behaviour which has turned out to be a fantastic blackmail tool!

For weeks she has had her heart set on a Tinkerbell lunchbox and has dropped many a hint about it. This lovely insulated Tinkerbell lunch bag and matching drink bottle from Amazon.co.uk fitted the bill perfectly. And just in case there are other Tinkerbell fanatics in the class, it has a useful name card to fill in on the back.

You’d think that with this gorgeous Tinkerbell lunchbox in the balance, there would be nothing else that could tempt Little I’s fancy in the lunchbox stakes…but you’d be wrong. When her little eyes spied the Goodbyn lunchbox in raspberry, it was suddenly an open playing field again!

The Goodbyn lunchbox, stocked by toyella.com, is a great invention from the US. I really wonder why no one has thought of it before. It is full of separate, perfectly sized compartments, which are individually sealed by the lid. No need for cling film or Tupperware anymore! It makes a lunchbox look so fun and appealing, and preparing a packed lunch is quicker as there’s no need to wrap things up (other than sandwiches). The design incorporates lid ‘ears’ which makes it really easy for small fingers to open, and there’s a handle for carrying.

The lunchbox comes with two sheets of stickers so that children can personalise it and make it their own. Little I had lots of fun decorating hers, and there were so many stickers left over that there are more than plenty for a redesign in a few months time.

Retailing at £19.99 it’s a bit on the pricey side, but I genuinely feel it’s a good investment. It washes up so easily and certainly stands out from the crowd. It definitely beats the empty ice cream tub that my husband used to take to school!

I plan to follow-up this post with ideas for making packed lunches healthy and fun, and so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment below…