School Lunchbox (retired)

[American Girl Rescue]

This item was released in 2007 and retired in 2018.

Julie's School Lunch Box
Item# F6316
$20 (price increase to $28 January, 2012)

Julie’s lunch travels in ’70s style with everything here:
A metal lunchbox, featuring a fun paisley and flower print
A matching insulated bottle with a removable cap so that Julie can bring hot soup
Also includes a pretend sandwich, bunch of chips, and frosted cupcake for dessert


This is a great, retro lunch box! The size is a bit smaller than Molly's lunch. It measures 3 1/8 long x 2 1/2 wide x 1 3/8 deep. The bright colored flowers are on all the sides of the metal box, including the bottom.

The cupcake is perfectly scaled. The frosting does mar if rubbed, and the 'paper liner' leaves marks on Julie's hands after she's held it.

The potato chips are really life-like. The only problem with them, is that they don't have a bag! Just a bunch of chips all together.

The sandwich is adorable and contains cheese, lettuce and tomato.

The thermos is precious! I love the colors and I really like it's style and the fact that you can take the lid off to use for a cup. The inside lid doesn't come off.

Downside to the thermos is that it is soft gray plastic! It's not hard resin, or acrylic. It's pliable like a barbie toy. It could have been made more sturdy.

Another problem with the set is trying to get all the pieces back into the lunch box. If you put the thermos in like it should go (up and down) you can't fit in the sandwich and chips. You have to put the thermos in lying down and still it's a bit snug to get in all the other pieces. That's why the cupcake is getting scratched up already.

Julie enjoying her school lunch

The paper napkin does NOT come with the set. I just thought she needed a napkin so I cut down a real sized one to fit in her lunch box.

Grade A - very versatile and useful product.

[Thimbleberry]

In 1974 wouldn't Julie be having her sandwich on whole wheat bread with an apple or homemade granola cookies or something instead of a Hostess cupcake? Those things are so 50's & early 60's.

[LaurenInChicago]

thimbleberry said:

In 1974 wouldn't Julie be having her sandwich on whole wheat bread with an apple or homemade granola cookies or something instead of a Hostess cupcake? Those things are so 50's & early 60's.

I think like today, it depends on the family. I know my dad ate WonderBread as a kid in the 70's... his family wasn't the crunchy type.

[tara]

I think the bread is supposed to be whole wheat.

[Lisabell]

Jan 6, 2008 14:56:46 GMT -5 Thimbleberry said:

In 1974 wouldn't Julie be having her sandwich on whole wheat bread with an apple or homemade granola cookies or something instead of a Hostess cupcake? Those things are so 50's & early 60's.

Well, Julie and I are the same age and it looks just like one of my lunches in grammar school. Hostess products were a bit of a "treat" in our house but I had them in my lunch often enough....

I just love this set and bought it specifically because it reminded me so much of my school lunches.

[ashleyvp]

I wasn't a child of the 70s but rather the 80s so I cannot speak for Julie per se... but our lunches were exactly like that. The one major exception would be the pattern used on everything. By the eighties, everything had gravitated to licensed characters like she-ra and gi joe. But the actual food was exactly the same.

So I think it is a perfect accessory and one we will most definitely be getting.

[sarahc]

I think Hostess was main stream in the seventies. I remember twinkies and ho hos quite well. Also white bread - Wonder was what we all ate. I started the whole wheat in college. I 'm sure it depended on the family.

[sondrasmom]

My 70's lunchbox was filled with peanut butter and honey on white bread, a banana and if I was lucky a Hostess treat like the cupcake.

[Librarian4]

I was 9 years old in 1974 just like Julie and back then we only ate white bread!

[kennedynkailey]

I am a child of the 70s... In grade school, I ate Wonder Bread, Hostess Cupcakes, and had Kool-Aid in my thermos!! I LOVE Julie's lunch! VERY accurate and appropriate! I also love that my DD loves Julie's things!! I give this lunch an A+ for play value and A+ for accuracy!

[blueanjel]

Just got this little lunch box for Lanie and love it. I think it is timeless.

[onemoredoll]

Nov 5, 2009 20:46:19 GMT -5 kennedynkailey said:

I am a child of the 70s... In grade school, I ate Wonder Bread, Hostess Cupcakes, and had Kool-Aid in my thermos!! I LOVE Julie's lunch! VERY accurate and appropriate! I also love that my DD loves Julie's things!! I give this lunch an A+ for play value and A+ for accuracy!

I just got this for Julie yesterday. It is so adorable and I am thrilled that I got this! It is "totally" 70's.

I was a child of the 70's (8 in 76) and her lunchbox looks exactly like the one I have, including the thermos. I just wish it wasn't made out of plastic. My father ate Pringles like crazy and I would find them in my lunchbox. Also, I loved Hostess cupcakes and ate them all the time. My mother always bought Wonderbread so this entire set is "right on" with the era and what my parents would have put in my lunch box. A+ for accuracy!

I wish the lunch box was a bit bigger. It is difficult to put all the "puzzle pieces" in there. I have to put the thermos in first, then the sandwich, then the pringles and then the cupcake….in that order to get it to fit. The other thing that I wish is that the Pringles weren't stuck together.

Other than the minor things I give this lunch box an A. My daughter and I are so thrilled with it. Brings back memories!

[keeperofthepast]

I was able to see this set recently. This set is so 1970's. Even the lunch almost reminds me of what a friend brought each day - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Wonder bread, potato chips or corn chips, a Hostess treat of some kind, and an apple. Kool-Aid in the thermos. Not too healthy, LOL

I never had Wonder bread or Hostess. I had homemade cookies or cake.