9 Old-School Lunch Boxes That'll Make You Feel Like A Kid Again

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For generations, the thought of going back to school would set off a chorus of groans among parents and children alike, but also a sense of excitement about the newness of it all. Year after year, kids eagerly walk through store aisles to pick out new notebooks, pens and pencils, and clothes. It's enough to make parents and grandparents nostalgic for the one new thing that excited them most when the school year started: the metal lunch box. And not just any metal lunch box. Choosing one meant showcasing your favorite characters from film and television, comic strips, superheroes, or best-loved toys, while also telling your classmates a little bit about who you were.

Early metal lunch boxes were originally made for coal miners and factory workers, who used the containers to keep dust and construction debris away from their homemade sandwiches. They became popular among schoolchildren in the 1950s, when companies recognized that featuring television shows and blockbuster movies would give kids a reason to replace the otherwise durable containers each school year. 

Manufacturers likely stopped using metal when vinyl and plastic proved to be less expensive. Today, parents can find soft-sided lunch bags featuring their kids' favorite characters, company logos, or simple patterned designs, like those modeled after the ekiben bento boxes sold at train stations in Japan.

The Nashville-based Aladdin company introduced the domed lunch box in 1957. According to the Smithsonian Institution, which keeps a 1961 original in its American History Museum, the yellow bus-shaped box featuring Goofy at the wheel and Huey, Louie, and Dewey Duck, Mickey Mouse, Dumbo, and others in the windows was hugely popular, selling more than 9 million units.

In the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, the predominant genre on television was the Western, and among the most popular was "Bonanza," the story of Ben Cartwright and his three sons, which lasted on NBC for 14 years starting in 1959. Other Western-themed lunch boxes featured fictional and non-fictional characters like Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Daniel Boone, Wild Bill Hickok, and Kit Carson.

Space travel was an entirely new frontier for television viewers, especially when the original "Star Trek" series landed on U.S. television sets in 1966. Kids showed off their fandom with a variety of lunch boxes, including a domed model from 1968. Although interest in the series and its spin-offs hasn't waned in almost 60 years, today's insulated bags — like this one by Intimo — feature simple designs with the crew insignias embroidered on the front. After all, when it comes to Star Trek, IFYKYK.

In the 1970s, pre-teens and teens hung posters of their favorite idols on their bedroom walls — but walls weren't the only place to display a crush, and they often carried lunch boxes adorned with their heartthrobs. Bobby Sherman had his own lunch box, while others, like Christopher Knight from "The Brady Bunch," David Cassidy from "The Partridge Family," and Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson from "The Hardy Boys," shared their lunchtime limelight with co-stars.

By the mid-1960s, the "Peanuts" comic strip had been running for 15 years (18 if you count the three years it appeared as Li'l Folks). Kids had a new reason to get excited about Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang when television specials began airing in 1965, and the "Peanuts" lunch box in the Smithsonian's collection is a 1968 Thermos container shaped like Snoopy's doghouse. If you're feeling nostalgic, you can buy a soft-sided version from Igloo.

Barbie was only three years old when American Thermos Bottle Company made her lunch box. Not to be outdone by Snoopy or Disney, this 1962 set, also in the Smithsonian's collection, was made of vinyl rather than metal and mimicked the Barbie carrying cases popular at the time — because metal just wouldn't do for Barbie.

The 1960s and '70s had no shortage of superheroes, and many made their way to school cafeterias. Batman and Robin, Superman, and the Hulk were popular lunchtime companions, as were Marvel's Spider-Man, Thor, and Captain America. While they couldn't rescue kids from lunches they didn't like, trading turkey club sandwiches was a lot easier with a superhero by your side.

When the first "Star Wars" movie opened in 1977, few predicted the cultural juggernaut it would become. As die-hard fans emerged, so did their desire to take their favorite characters — Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker — everywhere. With licensed items like this lunch box, the Force and Star Wars were always with you.

Today's gamers might roll their eyes at the simplicity of early video games like Pong, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man, but when Pac-Man was released, it sold more than 100,000 arcade units within a year (per Science Museum). Whether the sight of the ever-hungry yellow Pac-Man on the side of a lunch box inspired young appetites is anyone's guess.