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Ranking The 101 Most Iconic Lunch Boxes Of All Time

iconic retro lunch boxes cover

When it comes to school lunches, it’s all about the bag.

While there are some pretty incredible options out there today (cough, cough), we are completely obsessed with the genius retro lunch boxes of our youth.

Take a trip down the most fun memory lane either as we rank the 101 most iconic lunch boxes from back in the days when blackboards were still a thing and cell phones were just a dream.

(Warning: Serious nostalgia may occur. ๐Ÿ˜Ž)

Kicking it off with some classics

101. Old school cereal, old school lunch box.

100. A terrifying wolf in your bed? ๐Ÿ˜ฑSure it’s a kid’s story, but how would this ever be the lunchtime image a child wants to see??

Little Red Riding Hood Lunch Box

99. What even is happening here?

iconic Doctor Dolittle Lunch Box

98. Cute puppy, cute kitten, basic lunch box.

Wags 'n Whiskers Lunch Box

97. Have “a” orange crush? #Grammarfail. Your teacher probably hates this lunch box.

Orange Crush Lunch Box

96. Did anyone really want a Bullwinkle lunch box? (Maybe you did… feel free to tell us!)

Bullwinkle Lunch Box

95. Was everyone bringing cereal for lunch back in the day? I guess if you were, having lunch with Tony the Tiger isn’t a bad way to go.

94. When you just want to swim with an adventure-seeking dolphin all day…

Flipper Lunch Box

93. Before Ant-Man was cool…

Atom Ant Lunch Box

92. Definitely more of a niche Disney pick, and really – telling kids that foxes and dogs are BFFs doesn’t seem like it would end well.

The Fox and the Hound Lunch Box

91. When you want that 19th century charm at lunch…

Little House on the Prarie Lunch Box

90.ย Debatable: Archie as a front man. Even in Riverdale it’s a bit much, don’t you think?

Archie Comics Lunch Box

89. A spoonful of sugar helps lunch go down. ๐ŸŽถ(Fair warning: This won’t be the last time we “sing.” ๐Ÿ˜‚)

Mary Poppins Lunch Box

88. Truly hope this came with a free faux-leather jacket for kids, too.

The Fonz Lunch Box

87. This would be best for picnic lunches, who are we kidding?

Yogi Bear Lunch Box and Thermos

86. Guessing Dudley Do Right was kind of a rare pick for most kids?

Dudley Do-Little

85. An iconic poster as a lunch box to motivate you all through lunch.

Rosie the Riveter Lunch Box

84. That classic Lassie lunchbox. For when you want to feel wistful at lunch…?

The Magic of Lassie Lunch Box

83. Would every lunch be Munsters-themed as well? Because that could make it EVEN better.

The Munsters Lunch Box and Thermos

82. Hopefully your lunch will make you strong enough to rip trees and crush bad guys.

Six Million Dollar Man Lunch Box

81. For the chivalrous lunch-bringers out there…

iconic Peter Pan Lunch Box

You wouldn’t be embarrassed but you wouldn’t brag either

80. This doesn’t make school look like too much fun, tbh.

Mickey Mouse Lunch Box

79. Even intergalactic battlers need to break for lunch.

Battlestar Galactica Lunch Box

78. Super retro Alvin lunch box is bringing the cheer.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Lunch Box

77. At one point, this must have been the ultimate lunch box.

The Beatles Lunch Box

76. The force could be stronger with this one.

Star Wars Lunch Box

75. All aboard the bus, it’s time for lunch.

Walt Disney Lunch Box

74. Did anyone else consistently feel bad for Tom?

Tom and Jerry Lunch Box

73. This lunch box was EVERYWHERE.

Transformers Lunch Box

72. A total throwback classic, before Jurassic Park made it all too real. (Spoiler alert, see below.)

The Land Before Time Lunch Box

Here’s where it gets… weird (but also strangely compelling)

71. If you brought David Bowie with you to your school lunch, can we please be friends? ๐Ÿค˜

Labyrinth Lunch Box

70. Still do not understand how this movie was ever marketed to kids. I mean – TERRIFYING.

Gremlins Lunch Box and Thermos

69. When you want to feel like the giant overlord of your lunch.

Land of the Giants Lunch Box

68. Mr. Owl is the clearly best. (Do you remember the answer?)

Mr.Owl Lunch Box

67. Twinkie the cowboy? ๐Ÿ˜

Twinkie the Kid Lunch Box

66. This lunch set is way too groovy for my lunches.

Disco Lunch Box

65. Whose idea was this?????

Back in '76 Lunch Box

64. Aren’t these guys supposed to be pals? How’d they choose this image?! This is like when your mom posts the worst possible picture of you on Facebook and tags everyone she knows.

Gentle Ben Lunch Box

63. Cannot. Does anyone know what’s happening here? Did you have this lunch box? Please tell us!

The Flying Nun Lunch Box

62. Did David Lynch design this one? Pretty intense for school lunches if you ask us.

Nancy Drew Mysteries lunch box

Moving into more familiar territory…

61. Barbie goes full glam in this tropical set.

Barbie Hollywood Lunch Box

60. If you’re going with a Flintstones lunch box, the Dino-as-a-school bus is clearly the way to go.

iconic flintstones-retro-lunch-box

59. This is a cute set but if any kid did the whole voice bit along with it, pray for those lunch room monitors.

Woody Woodpecker Lunch Box and Thermos

58. Thundercats are on the loose at lunch, y’all.

Thundercats Lunch Box

57. Really hoping something fancy and at least half-robot helped open this lunch box.

The Jetsons Lunch Box

56. Who could’ve predicted the popularity of a small girl that lives inside a shortcake, honestly. (BTW: The cat’s name is Custard. The more you know. ๐Ÿ˜ธ)

Strawberry Shortcake Lunch Box

55. Remember that time The Chipmunks went rafting? Me neither, but gotta love the excitement it brings to lunchtime.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Lunch Box 2

54. Why does Bert hate lunch so much? Sesame Street was really intense about character continuity, we guess. ๐Ÿ˜‚

Sesame Street Lunch Box

53. Basically, you’re Hulk ~before~ lunch and cool as a Bruce Banner cucumber after. โœจ

The Incredible Hulk Lunch Box

52. This HAS to come with lunchtime Yosemite Sam quotes, right?? โ€œWhen I say whoa! โ€ฆ I mean whoa!โ€

Yosemite Sam Lunch Box

Getting cinematic with your lunch box

51. Imagine getting lunched beamed to you? #amazing

Star Trek Lunch Box

50. The appeal of ewoks is hard to describe and impossible to resist.

Star Wars Lunch Box 2

49. If you’re baller enough to bring this lunch box to school, #respect.

Jaws Lunch Box

48. A touching moment for lunchtime.

E.T. Lunch Box

47. Hopefully every lunch can be as exciting as Alice’s adventures. (Well… some of them, anyway.)

Alice in Wonderland Lunch Box

46. Click your heels three times to make this lunch box open.

Wizard of Oz Lunch Box

45. Again, a #relatable image. Basically, Monstro = me pre-lunch.

Pinocchio Lunch Box

44. When you want that sci-fi philosophic debate to go down at lunch.

Planet of the Apes Lunch Box

43. Props for a shout-out to a movie classic – could’ve been a better moment though, right?

The Goonies Lunch Box

42. This is a special case where the thermos is actually outperforming the lunch box itself. ๐Ÿ’ฏ

Jurassic Park Lunch Box

Fighting crime at lunchtime

41. When you’re all about #teamMarvel

Marvel Comics Lunch Box

40. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s your lunch – oh yes.

Superman Lunch Box

39. For the DC comics supporters… let’s go water-skiing? ๐Ÿ˜‚

D.C. Comics Superheros Lunch Box

38. The Mario craze made this lunch set a must-have.

Mario Lunch Box

37. Fantastic lunches, guaranteed.

Marvel Comics Super Heroes Lunch Box

36. How intense were lunch boxes back in the day, seeeriously!

The Green Hornet Lunch Box

35. Really wish the “POW!” was happening on this one, but hey.

Batman and Robin Lunch Box

34. Love how much fun the woman in the yellow pant suit is having while flipping the bad guy over.

Charlie's Angels Lunch Box

33. Hey Chief, it’s time for lunch!

Get Smart Lunch Box

32. OF COURSE G.I. Joe is an expert scuba diver?

G.I. Joe Lunch Box

When randomness is your lunchtime friend

31. The fireworks just bring it all home.

WWF Lunch Box

30. My money would be on the lion, personally.

Tarzan Lunch Box

29. The coolest of the cool.

Knight Rider Lunch Box

28. Alf will never not be confusing to me, so why not bring him along for lunch?

Alf Lunch Box

27. Another confusing mix of marketing to kids when the movie is preeetty random, but hey – the lunch set is cute!

iconic Roger Rabbit Lunch Box

26. This Globetrotters lunchbox is actually amazing. Would be practicing trick shots all day.

iconic The Harlem Globetrotters Lunch Box

25. Can we just stop and think about the Cabbage Patch Kids for a second? Who even thought of this? How scary are those heads popping out of the earth? What is going on???

iconic Cabbage Patch Kids Lunch Box 2

24. You can now not un-see Lurch water skiing on a gravestone.

Adams Family Lunch Box

23. These guys always looked like underwater onions… but somehow still cute. ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

Snorks Lunch Box and Thermos

22. In case you didn’t know: “Little Rose-Petal was created one day when her mistress, in a moment of distress, cried upon her garden and her tears crystallized, bringing her to life.”

Tears brought her to life? Okay!

Rose Petal Place Lunch Box

The lunch boxes you would never “lose”

21. Beetlejuice the cartoon, although nothing like the movie, was amazing in its own right.

iconic Beetlejuice Lunch Box

20. Garfield knows how to bring the best lunchtime inspo out there.

Garfield Lunch Box

19. What’s better than an ewok? A FLYING ewok.

Ewoks Lunch Box

18. HAVE TO DO IT… ๐ŸŽถWho you gonna call?ย ๐ŸŽถ

Ghostbusters Lunch Box

17. Nostalgia overload here – who remembers this show?

My Pet Monster Lunch Box

16. I pity the fool who didn’t have this lunch box.

iconic ateam-lunch-box

15. A pretty standard edition, but you know the swoons over this NKOTB lunch box were real.

New Kids on the Block Lunch Box

14. When Barbie finds her inner rock star (and huge hair.)

Barbie Rockers Lunch Box

13. Obviously cannot compare to the talking Teddy Ruxpin of our childhood dreams, but a nice reminder nonetheless.

Teddy Ruxpin Lunch Box

12. Look at this lunch box, isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my lunch collection’s complete… ๐ŸŽถโ˜บ๏ธ

The Little Mermaid Lunch Box

11. More confusing hits from the 80s – why Popples? What are they? And why did we HAVE to have one?

Popples Lunch Box

All-stars of iconic lunchtime envy – you still want these today

10. They’re blue, they’re actually quite weird – but we all loved them and wanted to be part of the Smurf village.

Smurfs Lunch Box

9. Back to celebrating the odd joy of Cabbage Patch Kids: Here they are playing tug of war in… the sky? On a beach? Is this just a dream we’re having right now? ๐Ÿ™ƒ

Cabbage Patch Kids Lunch Box

8. Another basic lunch box, but if you didn’t want a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunch box, you definitely weren’t a child in the 80s.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Lunch Box and Thermos

7. Another phenomenon it’d be hard to predict. My Little Pony lunch boxes were everywhere in the 80s… and still crushing it today.

My Little Pony Lunch Box and Thermos

6. In a decade full of strangeness, the California Raisins are up there with the quirkiest fads of all time. There’s something so oddly charming about them!

The California Rasins Lunch Box

5. Power up at lunchtime with the awesomeness of She-Ra.

(Side note: Swap dragons for the unicorn and are we looking at the original Daenerys Targaryen? ๐Ÿค”)

Princess Power Lunch Box

4. Snoopy is an icon in his own right and this classic duo is a lunchtime kit for the ages.

Snoopy Lunch Box and Thermos iconic

3. Was there anyone cooler than Jem in the 80s? Works in an orphanage by day, fights crime as an international rock star by night? AND has pink hair??? You just had to have lunch with the most iconic of her time.

jem lunch box iconic

2. Innovating on the classic lunch bag, the Scooby Doo gang are ready to roll into lunchtime with you.

Scooby Doo Lunch Box

1 – You can’t go wrong with Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat. Mischievous, fun, and everything we love about being a kid.

Cat in the Hat Lunch Box

You made it!

Did you love our ultimate list of retro lunch boxes? Did we miss your favourite lunch box?

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Get more lunch ideas for back to school (in this decade) by checking out our 5 hacks for better school lunches for kids and more healthy lunch ideas great for school or work.

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