Making Our Own Lunch in a Egg Carton

Take the picture already! We want to decorate!

Today I decided we would do a little craft before lunch. This is one the the minions' favorite things to do. Luckily we have friends and family that save their egg cartons for us.

I needed this to be a quick craft, so I used my foam stickers. I purchased these at Walmart for about a dollar a bag. You can also purchase basic ones at the Dollar Tree. After each holiday I hit up the seasonal clearance area at Walmart and pick up the seasonal ones. My minions are younger, so they do not care if they are in season or not. Plus, then I also have extra for the next time the holiday season rolls around. I bought 2 small packs of pumpkins and acorns at Walmart yesterday for about $1.25. Sadly they did  not have any more. I have 2 shoe boxes full of these. I just kinda mix them all together.

 I took a few out of the box and made sure the extra bits were off them. If I put the whole shoe box out, we would be sitting there all day long. Not to mention they would some how migrate all over the house.

Colonel Sanders always has perfect timing. I had hopes she would remain napping during this. I have 55 minutes between getting Clark on the bus, feeding the other minions, and taking Tyke to school. Colonel Sanders fell asleep as I was getting Clark ready. She apparently decided a 15 minute power nap was all she needed. Here she is joining us at the table.

Normally I would add some paper to the top of the egg cartons so that you can see everything a little better. Also it allows the boys to use marker and crayons to help them decorate the top. I had planed on this craft last night, but decided I was to lazy to glue on paper.

See what I mean? They are having great fun, but it would be nice to not see all that ink.

In the mean time, I went to the kitchen and did some lunch prep work. I made the little sandwiches last night. Most of the veggies were already cut. One of the veggie trays was on sale at the store when I went shopping. It was near the sell by date so I got it for 40% off. I learned that for the most part, these are still good for a week. You can't beat buying one of these for $3.50ish.

I know the table is a mess. What can I say. Going from left to right, we have blackberries, ham, pomegranate, Biscoff sandwiches in the shape of a D & a duck also Hello Kitty & the letter C, cheddar cheese, figs, and a veggie tray.

I put one sandwich and the matching letter into their cartons. From there they took over. I told them to put a few bites into each spot. I know it does not seem like a lot of food, but if you filled this up and then emptied it out, you would have more than enough to feed an adult.

Tyke showing off his lunch. It looks like he grabbed a little bit of everything.

 Pork Chop and his lunch. I know he only picked some of the items because he wanted to be like Tyke. Either way, both of them had great fun picking out what they were going to eat for lunch.

Poor little Colonel Sanders was given leftovers. I don't think she minds though. She happily ate 2 pieces of ham, some cheese, one of the sandwiches, and then some pomegranate.

I know the boys really enjoy the chance to make their own lunches. Most days I make it before hand or hurry to do it while they play. I need to remember to set aside time and do more lunches where the minions help.

Another Egg Carton Lunch

 Today I  was watching 2 other children. I needed a craft to do and also needed to have 5 mostly matching lunch containers. Needless to say, I do not have 5 that match. So I decided to do another egg carton lunch. Designing the outside makes a perfect craft and filling the inside is very efficient and fast. Perfect when you are feeding 5 little boys between the ages of 2 years and 5 years old. This is in addition to feeding little miss Colonel Sanders. Poor Colonel Sanders has now cut 6 teeth and I think is getting ready to cut some more. She seems to cut them in 2's.

 Anyway, today's lunch consists of salad dressing, grapes, peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches, cheese cubes, baby carrots, cucumbers, raisins, and blackberries.

Yes, I know it is a bit of a variety, but I had a picky eater and wanted to expose him to a few new things. Also the sandwich is made from a hotdog bun. One of the my minions has suddenly started to refuse to eat crusts. Being the mean mama I am, I thought a hotdog bun would be perfect! The top is pretty much nothing but crust! After a bit of crying, the sandwiches were gobbled up and no one died from the "dangerous" crust.

 I forgot to ask the mother if I could post pictures of her 2 boys, so instead of waiting (and then forgetting) I just decided not to post them. Instead you can enjoy looking at my 3 handsome little men.

They all loved their lunches. They also enjoyed decorating the outside of the containers.

Egg carton lunch

Today's lunch is in a recycled container. The minions do not eat to much, so I cut the egg carton in half. For lunch we have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into a N, L, J, 4, 6, and an 8. Next to is part of an apple cut up, and Cookies N Cream Goldfish. The bottom has 2 rolled slices of ham, a stick of string cheese cut into 3 pieces, and match stick carrots. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised with how much actually fit into just half an egg carton. I am glad to have found a new use for our egg cartons. We go through about 2 dozen eggs a week.

I think next time I will turn the egg carton into a before lunch craft project. Maybe set out some of the sticky back foam shapes, pipe cleaners, construction paper, and some markers. That way the minions can decorate their lunch box before mama fills it with lunch.