Printable Lunch Bags for When Your Child is Flying Solo
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It’s summer and your child is going away by themselves this summer. You’ve dreamed of/dreaded this day. It’s a day full of nervcitement (nervous and excited) for both you and your child. Send them off with a little extra love and comfort with these printable travel lunch bags!
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Printing on a paper sack is easy, cheap, and totally unexpected. Your child will think you are uber cool for printing on a paper sack. It’s a little way you can show your child how excited you are for them as well as send some love to calm the nerves.
Fill your sacks with things you know will comfort them, keep them busy, and help out (without sending electronics). For example, I always put something chewy inside the bag for take-off and landings to help with popping those ears and the change in pressure. Other things you may want to include:
Puzzles like word searches, crosswords, extreme dot to dots, color by number mosaic, or small jigsaw ones (check the dollar store) that they can do on the seatback table.
Favorite snacks or a meal if it’s a long plane ride. You know airplane food isn’t going to cut it.
Letter from you and your spouse or their siblings (stationary included in the download)- focus on the fun they will have and how excited you are for them. Keep the “missing you” stuff for when they get back. You don’t want to trigger homesickness; you want to help them remember all they have to look forward to.
Chocolate kisses and hugs- a fun way to send some extra love with them.
Something to squish- If your child gets nervous, having something to squish can be very helpful! You can send Squishies, some power putty, silly putty (with some colored newspaper comics for extra fun), or even a small teddy bear.
There are two bag designs and two stationary designs for you to use- one for the way there and one for when they head home. The one for the way home is usually much emptier but includes important reassurances like where you will meet them when they get off the plane or how you did, in fact, totally miss them. And, of course, more chewy items and snacks. I used to hide the home bag for later but discovered quickly they usually don’t look too hard through their suitcases and would miss it. Now, I give both bags to them right away so they can put them where they will find them and use them again.
Want Your Child to Have Spending Money Too?
I recommend using the Greenlight debit card. It’s super easy for your children and you to use. I love how the app makes it easy to track how much has been spent and helps your kids stay on top of their budget. When my kids are traveling without me and an unexpected expense comes up, it’s easy to add more money to their Greenlight card right away. It’s great training for later in life and let’s face it, they feel cool using it. Use my referral link to sign up and we’ll both get a bonus.
