Supplies:
Cling wrap
Wiggly eyes, markers, felt, pom-poms, and other craft supplies
The idea behind a Bento lunch is to have the eater open the meal and be astonished. Crackers and tomatoes become ladybugs; a hot dog half becomes an octopus. Many foods can be combined to create amazing animal images, cute bugs, and deep sea creatures. No wonder that the recipient of such an extravagant meal – made with ordinary foods – will always look forward to lunchtime. You’ll never run out of ideas for a Bento lunch because there are always new arrangements that can be made. Most Bento meal creations are done by decorating the food itself but there’s yet another way to amaze the eater: Instead of turning the foods into other things, decorate the packaging, and you’ll create a whole new line of delicious people and characters.
Many foods in a lunchbox do better if they’re wrapped. That can create a problem for the Bento meal since it’s based on being able to decorate all of the foods. And, it’s not all that exciting to open the lunchbox and see cling wrap. But something like a sandwich simply must be wrapped. So, if you can’t make the sandwich into something cute, make the wrapper into something adorable. Go ahead and wrap up a sandwich, a carrot, a brownie, or another food, and then you can turn it into a cute character.
Wrap the chosen food neatly in cling wrap; it can be clear or colored wrap. Or, use colored cellophane bags.Then, use particular craft supplies to give each food a face and other features. Stick on wiggly eyes, give the food a pom-pom nose, and maybe even a circle sticker mouth. Or, just use a marker to draw the features onto the wrap.
There are several different ways to create cute characters for the Bento lunch. Tie a ribbon around the “neck” to give it a feminine look. Or, make a guy food by sticking a tiny bow tie to the wrapper with double-sided tape. Make characters that are sweet and adorable or monster characters for Halloween.
Eyes can be made by a marker, a sticker, or by attaching wiggly eyes. Noses can be made from stickers, pom-poms, and pieces of felt. Mouths can be made from stickers, pipe cleaner pieces, and felt. Felt – or paper – can also be used to make little clothes to tape on the fronts of the wrappers.
You’ve probably packed Bento lunches before, but when making cling wrap characters, you can add a new, exciting element to lunchtime. Make holiday people, unusual animals, and more, by decorating the wrapping on a food. Don’t limit the fun lunches to kids; adults love them, too!