Armed with only a black magic marker and a paper sack, mom was able to personalize your lunch bag, separating your lunch—the PB-n-J without crust—from the pack with a stroke of her mighty pen. Of course, having a brown sack with large, black letters could get a little embarrassing at times, especially if your mother liked to dot her I’s with little hearts. But you can never say she didn’t make the effort.

Today, it doesn’t take much effort at all for your kids to have personalized lunch bags. By personal, we’re talking about various graphics, lettering, colors, etc, that you and/or your children select. We’re not talking about going into the local mega-mart and letting your son or daughter point and pick which lunchbox they want. While this may not be a bad idea, it’s still not all that personal.

Kids, especially in the public school system, can benefit from personalized lunch bags in a few ways. For starters, there are no mix-ups once he or she gets to school. Sally won’t get her lunch confused with Susie, and nobody has to blow tuna salad chunks into Mrs. Fox’s trashcan during 5^th period English (don’t ask!). If personalized lunch bags do nothing but ensure your kids aren’t mixing up or misplacing their lunch, then they’re worth every penny.

Let’s face facts here: even as little tikes, your children want to be individuals. Letting them have control over the design of their bag is something that a child will love. They get to go crazy, express themselves, and you won’t have to hear “I hate you” if you mistakenly picked up the played-out Superman box when your kid wanted Batman. And speaking of the almighty box, those things are pretty much irrelevant in today’s modern world. Why? It all has to do with construction and versatility.

Those plastic pales are definitely one-trick ponies. While most do come with a tiny thermos inside, they’re just square, bulky, and rarely able to last through one drop. A heavy-duty canvas bag, on the other hand, usually has insulated material all the way around. This means that you can pack puddings and fruit and they’ll actually stay cold and fresh. The material is superior, too, meaning that it can withstand a few drops and slings.

Personalized lunch bags are also good for more than just lunch and school. Your child can use them on summer vacation at camp, sleepovers, field trips, or many other occasions. The personalization definitely comes in handy on ventures such as these. If you think it’s easy to get something misplaced in a classroom, just wait until you’re dealing with a long field trip or a camping excursion. You’d be amazed at how shameless children are when it comes to eating another kid’s apple! The nerve!

These bags are not only good for kids; some adults like the personalized lunch bags as well. You might not want “Tommy” written on the flap with colorful letters, but you can have pictures and various graphics screened on. And for the price, these bags simply can’t be beat.