Top Five Tips for Making Sandwiches More Fun

I talk a lot about how to make lunch packing more fun, and share lots of ideas for non sandwich lunches and lunches without bread.

But sometimes I feel like the sandwich gets a bad rap.

I actually love sandwiches and my kids do too. And while I try to not pack them too often so nobody gets burnt out (check out my top 5 lunch packing tips for more about why), sandwiches are still a lunchtime staple for us. They are so quick and easy to make, and easy to eat when you’re short on time, so I think they still need to be a part of the lunch menu rotation. But there’s no reason why we can’t make those sandwiches a little more interesting.

Packing sandwiches for lunch doesn’t have to be boring!

There are so many simple ways to make sandwiches for lunch just a little more fun - for both the busy mom who is packing them and the kid who is eating them.

This post is all about simple tips to make sandwiches for lunch more fun.

Keep reading for more detail and pictures for each of these tips.

Here are my top five tips for making sandwiches more fun:

1) Cut the sandwiches into fun shapes

2) Use bento or cocktail picks

3) Make your sandwich into a roll or wrap instead

4) Think outside the box - make sandwiches with non-traditional ingredients

5) Pack a make-your-own sandwich box

Let’s get into the detail about my favorite ideas for how to pack sandwiches for lunch!

1) Cut the sandwiches into fun shapes.

It’s so easy to just grab a knife or cutter and trim that boring sandwich. You can buy cutters that are made for sandwiches, or you can use big cookie cutters or biscuit cutters.

Or you don’t even have to buy anything special, you can just get creative with a knife. Cut sandwiches into quarters, or strips, or even bite sized pieces. (Bonus: bite sized lunch foods is one of my favorite tips for how to get kids to eat their lunch!)

However you do it, opening the lunchbox and finding the sandwich in a little different shape will put a smile on your kiddo’s face. They will quickly start to look forward to what awaits them in their lunch.

Simple little sandwiches cut with a bunny cookie cutter.

A variety of basic sandwiches simply cut into strips with a sharp knife. 

Various sizes of heart cookie cutters make these valentine's themed lunches feel filled with love. 

2) Use bento or cocktail picks

Somehow sticking a couple of cute, colorful bento picks in a regular sandwich just totally changes the mood of the lunch. It makes lunch fun! This is one of my favorite ways to brighten up a lunch, because it really only takes seconds. If you have a good supply of a variety of fun picks, and you keep them handy in your kitchen, you can amp up the fun in that sandwich in no time at all.

You can think a little outside the box with these too - they don’t have to be picks that are specifically made for bento lunches. I have used fun little cocktail forks, toothpicks and even cupcake toppers.

I have a fairly large collection of bento picks that I have gathered over the years, so you’ll see lots of different ones in my favorite lunches. You can find some of my favorites here in my Amazon store, or if you just go to Amazon and search “bento picks” you will find even more fun choices. You can also keep your eye out at local stores for fun little options. They are not expensive and it’s fun to add to your collection over time.

See how much more appealing this sandwich looks just be adding a cute little animal to it? 

A fun and super easy birthday lunch using a cupcake topper as a decoration, and the pancake sandwiches are on simple cocktail picks with a little colorful bead. 

3) Make the sandwich into a roll or wrap instead

I think this still counts as a sandwich tip - just take all the stuff that you would normally put between two slices of bread, and roll it up in a tortilla instead. You can cut these into little bite sized slices, or leave them bigger. Just changing a single ingredient - the bread - makes it feel like a whole new meal idea.

Simple turkey, ham, and cheese, rolled up in a tortilla and cut in half, secured with a fun little pinwheel toothpick. 

These tortilla rolls are cut in smaller pieces and held together with a small skewer.

4) Think outside the usual sandwich components

Breakfast for lunch is one of my personal favorite kinds of lunches to pack, and one of the ways I love to pack breakfast items in lunches is to make them into fun little sandwiches. We make pancake sandwiches and waffle sandwiches, and sandwiches with banana bread. I always make lots extra whenever I make any of these kinds of breakfast items, they freeze great and they make for really quick and easy lunch items.

You can spread waffles, pancakes, or quick breads with butter, jam, cream cheese, peanut butter, apple butter, or really any other filling that sounds good to you.

We also love bagel sandwiches here. Regular size bagels, or see if you can find the mini ones, make great sandwiches. They hold up especially well to packing ahead of time, if you have concerns about the sandwich getting soggy. You can make bagel sandwiches with typical savory sandwich fillings, or any of the breakfast sandwich fillings I listed.

Sandwiches made with leftover pancakes and cream cheese, cut into quarters. 

These sandwiches are made with apple bread and have butter or cream cheese and sliced strawberries in the middle. 

One of my favorites - quick and easy bagel sandwiches, made so cute with little eyes and a few other fun bento picks. I love this lunch so much I have a blog post just for it. 

5) Try a “make your own” sandwich kit

The sandwich kit, or deconstructed sandwich is yet another of my favorites. This idea works best for slightly older kiddos, I wouldn’t expect a kinder to manage this lunch on their own. But for the older ones it’s a fun way to mix things up a bit.

Pack a lunch box with all the items for a sandwich and let them have fun assembling it themselves. You can pack squares of bread, meat & cheese, a container of mayo, maybe some sliced veggies; or try little containers of jam and nut butter. Some kids will have fun stacking their sandwich at lunch time, and some kids will enjoy eating all the pieces separate.

However they do it, it’s a fun way to take everything you would put in an ordinary sandwich and present it in a new and interesting way.

All the components for a healthy sandwich - whole grain bread, meat, cheese, and thin sliced veggies, with a little mayo. 

And there you have it!

I hope these tips help you up your lunch packing game a bit, and make packing (and eating!) sandwiches for lunch just a little more fun!

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