The $1.25 Dollar Tree Find I’m Stocking Up On While It Lasts

As a mom who has packed thousands of lunches, I’ve learned a few hard truths. For starters, no matter how lovingly you cut the sandwich or how many mini cucumbers you include, if the yogurt is warm when lunch rolls around, it’s all for nothing. My daughter once described her room-temperature yogurt as “the saddest thing in the world.” Honestly, she wasn’t wrong. 

We’ve used a firm ice pack for most of the year to keep everything cool in transit, but it recently broke. So when I spotted a display of these cute fruit-themed reusable ice packs at Dollar Tree for $1.25, I grabbed one to try. It’s shaped like a bright yellow lemon slice, slim enough to slip into any lunchbox, and if it could keep the yogurt cold until her second nutrition break, we’d have a winner. Spoiler alert: we now have a new lunch-packing essential.

Why I Love Dollar Tree’s Fruit-Themed Reusable Ice Packs

For $1.25, the price is right. I popped it into my daughter’s lunch bag around 8 a.m. and asked her to take note of how cold it was during her last nutrition break. That evening, she told me it was still cold when she rechecked it at 1:30 p.m. She said it was “too cold to hold in her hands” for very long. This is what prompted me to go back and grab a couple more.

I love the slim, flexible design. Most ice packs are block-shaped and bulky, making them difficult to fit into small spaces. This one slides in right underneath or on top of her bento box. Because it’s soft and bendable, I can also curve it around or wedge it between items when that makes more sense. And nothing gets squished.

It’s also pretty cute. The lemon slice design is cheerful, making her lunch bag feel more fun, something my daughter appreciates. Keeping with the fruit theme, they also have orange and watermelon options available.

Beyond lunches, they make great little cooler buddies for road trips or when I’m picking up groceries on a hot day and don’t want my spinach to wilt in the trunk. And because of their malleability, I also keep a spare in the freezer as a mini “boo-boo pack” for scraped knees and dramatic stubbed toes. 

A Few Tips for Making the Most of Your Reusable Ice Packs:

• Freeze them overnight so they’re rock-solid by morning.
• Use two on really hot days—one on each side of the lunchbox. 
• If your kids are prone to leaving things behind at school, label them with a Sharpie.

I don’t know how long these fruit ice packs will stick around at the Dollar Tree, so I’ve stocked up. They’re one of those tiny, inexpensive things that quietly make life easier—and at this stage in parenting, that’s mostly what I’m looking for.

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