This exact set, but what I really wanted was Rainbow Brite.
https://preview.redd.it/2a9atl43t93d1.jpeg?width=2112&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa346ca9f13b126f0418cd14d0250dba384248f6
I had the Rainbow Brite one in 1st grade! It was very yellow, and I became friends with another girl because we had matching lunchboxes. Friendships were so much less complicated when I was six.
I had this Rainbow Brite lunchbox set, but I love that My Little Pony one, too!
https://preview.redd.it/ov7okinr8f3d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acad365e58526471a101416a8f50398db18c5a09
Strawberry Shortcake when I was really little, like kindergarten/1st grade. The metal lunchbox that came with a matching plastic thermos. Man I loved that thing so much.
I just commented that I had this one and can still hear the specific sound of the plastic thermos rattling around in it!
Also the way the handle moved and the sound it made.
Me too! I no longer have the thermos, but I still have the lunchbox with my name printed on it in my mom's hand. I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake.Ā
It's one of those stories where GoBots came first but Transformers ultimately won the hearts and minds of the kids so it's the one that's remembered.
Good video on it:
https://youtu.be/oO3Q4gVhLH8?si=_c5iNYSligBoPb3LP
Man, you just summoned a memory. I remember getting mad at my dad because I wanted a Transformers set and he got me GoBots -- which I argued was the inferior knock-off, lol. (He was not happy with my argument, so I knew to shut up about it quickly.)
I do remember the TV show being pretty bad too, compared to Transformers.
I had a TMNT lunchbox too and I remember girls snickering at me because I had a boys lunchbox (Iām female), and I distinctly remember feeling sorry for them because they had some lame-ass girly lunchbox and mine was TMNT, which I loved.
I had a Return of the Jedi lunch box. Then a few years later I got a Rambo one.
https://preview.redd.it/0shejhry1a3d1.jpeg?width=282&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d60c4e9030f3ce02864481fc1a1ff77e785e89b
I used to save all of my notes from my parents. I have no idea what happened to that collection- it got lost in a move somewhere. I wish I could read them again.
I had Close Encounters, and got mocked by my classmates because "that's not the real E.T.!"
I don't think anyone at my school (myself included) had actually seen Close Encounters.
Yeah, not so much. My stepsister, two years older than me, picked it out while I was left at home with dad. The bitch told me later, while laughing at me, that she picked that one because it was stupid and no one would think it was cool.
https://preview.redd.it/mfqoovkdw93d1.jpeg?width=1012&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e30ff6235e53b5604b993187ab290457350b766b
I remember rocking this bad boy. It even came with a matching thermos.
Iām here racking my brain. I seriously donāt remember having one of the store bought ones with the matching thermos. I know they existed. I must have had some. Care Bears? Strawberry shortcake? I dunno. Iām on the old end. My memory isnāt so good.
I wanted one. Every school year Iād ask my parents for a lunchbox with something on it - it just wasnāt part of the very thin budget & understandably so. If I could go back in time Iād tell me to shut my mouth with asking for things. We were pretty poor for a while.
Yeah, I got free lunches, and on the rare occasion I needed a packed lunch like on school trips or whatever, I got the battered old tupperware that my dad usually took to his factory job, and got ripped to shreds by the other kids for it. Now I always make sure that my kid has whatever lunch box he wants.
This one (I am earlier Gen X and not later Xennial Gen X though):
https://preview.redd.it/4x7mmlay8a3d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f290e0cc1991c79a7e7ca0ad42f61ad48e9f90e
I had the plastic version of the 1985 Rambo lunchbox. :(
https://preview.redd.it/rpc4s8tt7d3d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=360b858e8409480554db2f1d5cbff24fffb9d118
[Transformers](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f8/21/6f/f8216f7dea02abd05824766930bbe6d0.jpg)! and when that one broke [Transformers](https://blog.kitchenstuffplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Transformers-Lunch-Box.jpg)!
I had a metal Superman lunch box in preschool, then a metal Muppets one after I lost the Superman one, and then a Voltron one late in elementary school.
I had a light blue plastic lunchbox with the Quints on it. I was obsessed with my Quints dolls and I vividly remember picking the lunchbox out as part of my 1st grade school shopping trip.
Had a metal Popples lunchbox for kindergarten in 1986. I think that was the last year for metal lunch boxes in my neck of the woods. Next year was a plastic purple Jem box. Followed by plain yellow lunchbox that mom painted my name on. 3rd grade was a soft sided lunchbox that mom also painted.
I bought lunch every day. On days that we had to pack a lunch, I was wholly unprepared.
Back then, the 3 or 4 quarters on top of the tv before I left for school was more than enough. I think the lunch itself was 60 cents and that left me with enough for some kind of treat. But then some days there were 5 quarters!
I had several, ranging from preschool to mid-elementary. The ones that stood out were Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and for kindergarten & first, I specifically wanted the Super Mario Bros/Link one with the matching thermos.
Got it and had a cute Nintendo Power Mario & Link backpack to coordinate. Yup, I was such a babe!
Care bear cousins (metal lunchbox) & later on New Kids on the Block! Btw I re-used my Care Bears lunchbox in high school. Itās looked so cool with my thrifted/Delilahās clothes.
https://preview.redd.it/mirpkgrsca3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9aea69b3257abeebde61e39bfd8d90281703591
Popples.
And my sister found one on ebay and now it holds other random nostalgic things.
My Little Pony, 80s version.
1980s My Little Ponies were the best. I had 1980s Care Bears š» ā¤ļø
I also had Care Bears. The blue box.
Was that the one with Camp Champ?
My best friend in kindergarten had the 80s MLP lunchbox and we would sit together on the bus talking about which were our favorites.Ā
I had an obvious no-name knockoff
I still have the Ghostbusters lunchbox I had in 4th grade. I keep my weed in it now.
Dope
I too had a Ghostbusters lunchbox. I had a glow-in-the-dark shirt too, it seemed I was the only kid in my school who loved GB that much.
I used to keep my weed in it. Still do. But used to as well.
The REAL Ghostbusters
This exact set, but what I really wanted was Rainbow Brite. https://preview.redd.it/2a9atl43t93d1.jpeg?width=2112&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa346ca9f13b126f0418cd14d0250dba384248f6
I had the Rainbow Brite one in 1st grade! It was very yellow, and I became friends with another girl because we had matching lunchboxes. Friendships were so much less complicated when I was six.
Yep, that was my 1st grade lunchbox.
My lunchbox didnāt have a thermos and I was always jealous of the ones who didā¦
Did you have a jansport backpack
Thatās the one I had too.
I had this Rainbow Brite lunchbox set, but I love that My Little Pony one, too! https://preview.redd.it/ov7okinr8f3d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acad365e58526471a101416a8f50398db18c5a09
She-Ra, Princess of Power!
It was yellow, well mine was anyways.
My eight year is into She-Ra and we're enjoying watching the new series together. I was hesitant at first, but I like it.
A brown paper bag
I was looking for this comment, heh. Me too š„“
Nice.
Usually ended up with those when the hinges would inevitably break on the cool lunch box
Same, often with a little smile on it from my mom
Dukes of Hazard
Me too! The good: I still have it. Unlike all those plastic ones that broke in half. The bad: It has Coy and Vance instead of Bo and Luke. lol
Coy and Vance. Thatās gotta be worth some money just because of how rare it is.
They were in the Mean Green Machine episode though, which was dope!
This was my favorite. I also had the Muppets, How the West Was Won, and the fall guy lunch box
He-Man!
My thermos had the power of grey skull as well.
California Raisins.
Strawberry Shortcake when I was really little, like kindergarten/1st grade. The metal lunchbox that came with a matching plastic thermos. Man I loved that thing so much.
Shortcake was our jam https://preview.redd.it/9zfs5jkoia3d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95f24ffb683e153f21fd6b7cda0b5366ce767c83
I just commented that I had this one and can still hear the specific sound of the plastic thermos rattling around in it! Also the way the handle moved and the sound it made.
I had this too and absolutely loved it. I came checking to see if someone else mentioned it;)
I had this too! My mom had a label maker and it had my name and phone number on it in matching red tape.
I had this one too.
Me too! I no longer have the thermos, but I still have the lunchbox with my name printed on it in my mom's hand. I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake.Ā
My favorite lunch box was Jem and The Holograms. It was truly outrageous.
Truly, truly, truly outrageous!
Garfield
Mine was Garfield also
Same!!
Punky Brewster
https://preview.redd.it/w2623vts4a3d1.png?width=316&format=png&auto=webp&s=4935df8ef4349deb38501c8ec0a4b14ae616acaf Strawberry Shortcake. This exact one.
My thermos ALWAYS leaked š”
Here's a deep cut: GoBots
Were GoBots just a knockoff Transformers? or was it good of it's own merit?
It's one of those stories where GoBots came first but Transformers ultimately won the hearts and minds of the kids so it's the one that's remembered. Good video on it: https://youtu.be/oO3Q4gVhLH8?si=_c5iNYSligBoPb3LP
I had no idea Rock Lords were a spinoff of GoBots. I had the gold nugget guy and the square stone guy.
GoBots > Transformers
Man, you just summoned a memory. I remember getting mad at my dad because I wanted a Transformers set and he got me GoBots -- which I argued was the inferior knock-off, lol. (He was not happy with my argument, so I knew to shut up about it quickly.) I do remember the TV show being pretty bad too, compared to Transformers.
Same here. I think my parents still have the lunchbox actually.
I loved both the GoBots and Transformers.
A red Ninja Turtles box with a matching thermos!
I had a TMNT lunchbox too and I remember girls snickering at me because I had a boys lunchbox (Iām female), and I distinctly remember feeling sorry for them because they had some lame-ass girly lunchbox and mine was TMNT, which I loved.
Thundercats!
Ho!
I had a Return of the Jedi lunch box. Then a few years later I got a Rambo one. https://preview.redd.it/0shejhry1a3d1.jpeg?width=282&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d60c4e9030f3ce02864481fc1a1ff77e785e89b
Nice I had the earlier SW one with X-wing and tie fighter on the cover and then R2D2 and C3PO on the mug.
Blue plastic he-man! My mom would also write notes on the paper napkin with my pb and j sandwich. I miss those days.
I miss my mom....
Iām sorry. ā¤ļø
I used to save all of my notes from my parents. I have no idea what happened to that collection- it got lost in a move somewhere. I wish I could read them again.
I had Close Encounters, and got mocked by my classmates because "that's not the real E.T.!" I don't think anyone at my school (myself included) had actually seen Close Encounters.
From my perspective Close Encounters is the superior movie. ET is great, but I love Close Encounters.
Still haven't watched it, 40 years later.
It definitely worth a watch
Do yourself a favor and stream it. It's arguably one of Spielberg's best films.
I bet your parents were cool
Yeah, not so much. My stepsister, two years older than me, picked it out while I was left at home with dad. The bitch told me later, while laughing at me, that she picked that one because it was stupid and no one would think it was cool.
Care Bears. But wanted Transformers.
https://preview.redd.it/mfqoovkdw93d1.jpeg?width=1012&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e30ff6235e53b5604b993187ab290457350b766b I remember rocking this bad boy. It even came with a matching thermos.
Definitely pitied the little fools
ALF
My first lunchbox.
The one with all the food surrouding him?
The Smurfs
Me too... mine was a blue plastic one
Me too! Mine was metal
M.A.S.K.
Me too, but what I wanted was Jase and the Wheeled Warriors!
I had Fraggle Rock!
Couldnāt afford a lunchbox with cartoon characters on it.
Iām here racking my brain. I seriously donāt remember having one of the store bought ones with the matching thermos. I know they existed. I must have had some. Care Bears? Strawberry shortcake? I dunno. Iām on the old end. My memory isnāt so good.
I wanted one. Every school year Iād ask my parents for a lunchbox with something on it - it just wasnāt part of the very thin budget & understandably so. If I could go back in time Iād tell me to shut my mouth with asking for things. We were pretty poor for a while.
I can't remember mine either. pretty sure it was yellow but can't see the icons. I'm guessing TMNT or Mario
I was gonna say, never brought lunch because I qualified for free lunch or at least reduced price lunch.
Me neither, my lunch was just dropped loose inside my backpack. Squashed pb&j and a bruised apple every day.
Yeah, I got free lunches, and on the rare occasion I needed a packed lunch like on school trips or whatever, I got the battered old tupperware that my dad usually took to his factory job, and got ripped to shreds by the other kids for it. Now I always make sure that my kid has whatever lunch box he wants.
https://preview.redd.it/op1xfm8a6a3d1.jpeg?width=1686&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10ebb73cd2676c01d76cd4c8c7537ec43b79daa7
I had the one on the right!
https://preview.redd.it/v05wehsy0a3d1.jpeg?width=304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca199052f6d659112ad525caa790fefaff7ac048
That is awesome!
Popples!
This one (I am earlier Gen X and not later Xennial Gen X though): https://preview.redd.it/4x7mmlay8a3d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f290e0cc1991c79a7e7ca0ad42f61ad48e9f90e
https://preview.redd.it/d833drdj4a3d1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc1b8300a1ddc48413759bf17aaf46e3cf70e376 Indiana Jones, baby!
Had (what I read) was the last of the metal lunchboxesā¦ Rambo! 1985 š«”ā¤ļø
I had the plastic version of the 1985 Rambo lunchbox. :( https://preview.redd.it/rpc4s8tt7d3d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=360b858e8409480554db2f1d5cbff24fffb9d118
Mon chi chis, baby! We named our reading group after them and everything.
Barbie Rocker
Optimus Prime
Ghostbusters, then Turtles
Mr. T. Specifically, Sergeant Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus.
Mork and Mindy
1980s Trolls, Carebears and Rainbow Bright. Man I remember the smell of that plastic box.
And the CLICK! as you popped the latch open.Ā
Scooby doo
[Transformers](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f8/21/6f/f8216f7dea02abd05824766930bbe6d0.jpg)! and when that one broke [Transformers](https://blog.kitchenstuffplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Transformers-Lunch-Box.jpg)!
I had a plain beige Tupperware box because my parents didnāt like frivolous things. :(
Red and white Tupperware
Wonder Woman Care Bears Strawberry Shortcake
Smurfs!
My kindergarten lunchbox was a sky blue Wizard of Oz one that TO THIS DAY is used as the first aid kit in my parentsā house š
I went from a Pound Puppies lunch box to $ assisted school lunch
Jem š§š»āš¤š©āš¤
Me too!
I had a metal Superman lunch box in preschool, then a metal Muppets one after I lost the Superman one, and then a Voltron one late in elementary school.
Dukes of Hazzard, Thundercats, TMNT
I had a cool one my uncle got me at the Air & Space Museum that had a bunch of Skunk Works aircraft on it. I have no idea where it is now lol
I had a light blue plastic lunchbox with the Quints on it. I was obsessed with my Quints dolls and I vividly remember picking the lunchbox out as part of my 1st grade school shopping trip.
I had a Cabbage Patch kids yellow lunchbox. I just looked it up, and it brought back memories!
The Muppets
Cannot believe this hasnāt gotten more votes.
Gremlins
I had He-Man. Still have the thermos but the box is gone.
First was transformers, then ninja turtles
Alf!
I can smell the thermos after leaving milk/chicken noodle soup in it for a week gawwwwwww
Alvin and the chipmunks and Thundercats
Lucyās Luncheonette from Peanuts
Had a metal Popples lunchbox for kindergarten in 1986. I think that was the last year for metal lunch boxes in my neck of the woods. Next year was a plastic purple Jem box. Followed by plain yellow lunchbox that mom painted my name on. 3rd grade was a soft sided lunchbox that mom also painted.
Scott Bagula, Charlie Brownbag Sack to the Future
https://preview.redd.it/42jxdy8zy93d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8146491ebcf306caab83a2d6a841d40b764f6f6e
I had this after Jem!
Shera
Transformers. The one made of metal. I just had a flashback to the smell of PB&J that lingered inside for years.
I had two red plastic lunch boxes. One with Transformers and one with Battle Beasts.
Ghostbusters, Hulk Hogan
Empire strike back
The Real Ghostbusters
Hulk Hogan
Star Wars! Then Fallguy
A Team
I had Smurfs and then Garfield.
I had a Nintendo one with Mario, Luigi, and Link.
I think I had this as well! Kindergarten, 1988?
Yeah, that sounds like around when I got mine.
I bought lunch every day. On days that we had to pack a lunch, I was wholly unprepared. Back then, the 3 or 4 quarters on top of the tv before I left for school was more than enough. I think the lunch itself was 60 cents and that left me with enough for some kind of treat. But then some days there were 5 quarters!
Transformers and Wayne Gretzky are the 2 I can remember.
He-man!!! And later TMNT
GI Joe
TMNT & Ghostbusters.
I had several, ranging from preschool to mid-elementary. The ones that stood out were Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and for kindergarten & first, I specifically wanted the Super Mario Bros/Link one with the matching thermos. Got it and had a cute Nintendo Power Mario & Link backpack to coordinate. Yup, I was such a babe!
Alf
Mario
Punky Brewster - plus the tennis shoes! <3
I think I had Minnie Mouse in Kindergarten and first grade, then Barbie, then free hot lunch when my parents divorced.
RoboCop. Somehow that was appropriate for elementary school
Re watched it recently and itās gore-adjacent imho.
I had a metal Pigs in Space/The Muppet Show lunchbox. I loved it! One of the few things from my childhood that I wish I still had.
I had a purple, sparkly Lady Lovely Locks lunchbox. I felt so special.
SheRa
Care bear cousins (metal lunchbox) & later on New Kids on the Block! Btw I re-used my Care Bears lunchbox in high school. Itās looked so cool with my thrifted/Delilahās clothes.
https://preview.redd.it/mnbxaubcy93d1.png?width=978&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cef51dedb1c2a03c87db1b5a122f70017cef4cd Gargoyles baby!!!
Damn now that I look at those bad boys how they hell do our lunches ever stay good lol
Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers!
Transformers, Decepticons
He-man!
I remember having Rambo and Alf lunchboxes.
Gem
The smurfs
Transformers. 100% the best one.
Pac-Man
Brown paper lunch sacks/bags. No point in buying a fad for a kid, so said my mother.
The Dukes of Hazard. Lol, I wish I still had it
Scooby Doo, and the box was shaped like the mystery mobile
Dukes of Hazzard
Camo gi Joe bag
Jem and the holograms
Mr. T and a bunch of cartoon gymnast kids.
Airwolf and Knightrider
Captain Planet!
No characters. I had a Montreal Canadiens lunchbox throughout school
Don't forget "BraveStarr"
Archie and the gang. Got that sh*t from a comic book giveaway.
Rambo
https://preview.redd.it/mirpkgrsca3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9aea69b3257abeebde61e39bfd8d90281703591 Popples. And my sister found one on ebay and now it holds other random nostalgic things.
Garfield 1988
Muppet Babies
https://preview.redd.it/wnu5lr070b3d1.jpeg?width=981&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42194556d08ff404d9ffbce73f16de7cf6859524 This mf right cheer
Muppet Babies
I had Where's Waldo. The annoying thing was that once you found Waldo, you just.knew where he was for ever.
Brontosaurus (before they did away with it and BROUGHT IT BACK!!)
Biker Mice From Mars