A mom creates fun characters out of her son's school lunches, and the elaborate bento boxes have gone viral

• Sera Winston-Kascak has been making her 4-year-old son, Kouki Kascak, creative bento boxes, called "kyaraben" in Japanese, for a year.
• Winston-Kascak fills her son's lunches with everything from owls made out of spaghetti to characters from "Monsters, Inc." made out of rice.
• She posted a photo of the lunches she makes on Twitter, and it went viral, having over 67,000 likes at the time of writing.
• "I am so happy that I am able to share Japanese bento culture with people because they really are some of the best memories Japanese kids have growing up," Winston-Kascak told Insider.
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Like a lot of things in elementary school, lunchtime can sometimes turn into a game, with kids showing off their candy bars or sandwiches cut into the shapes of stars.

But in Oceanside, California, Sera Winston-Kascak's 4-year-old son, Kouki Kascak, would win every lunch showdown thanks to the character-based bento boxes she makes him.

Winston-Kascak has been making her son 'kyaraben,' elaborate bento boxes that feature characters and kid-friendly shapes, for a year now

"Kouki started a new school that did not provide school lunches, so I took that opportunity to make lunches for him," Winston-Kascak told Insider.

Winston-Kascak grew up in Okinawa, Japan, and her mother is Okinawan, which is where her inspiration for the lunches came from.

"In Japan, we do have school lunches, but usually once a week or once a month is 'bento no hi,'" Winston-Kascak said, which translates to bento day. Parents make their children elaborate lunches to celebrate.

"I am always so busy with school and work, so it's my way of showing him that I love him," Winston-Kascak said of why she makes her son kyaraben. And it seems Kascak feels that love, based on his reaction to the lunches.

"His teachers tell me that he always opens his lunch and gasps and yells out the character that's in his box, and usually his friends gather around to see, or he lifts it and shows it to them," she told Insider.

"It makes me happy to know he gets so excited."

Winston-Kascak told Insider it usually takes her around two hours to make four boxes

The lunches are a bit time-consuming to make, especially if Winston-Kascak is using characters in the meal, as she did for the "Monsters, Inc." boxes. 

"I like to get my ideas from Pinterest to save time and just add my own little twist to it," she said. Winston-Kascak explained that coming up with the concepts is the most time-consuming part of creating the bento boxes. 

"You do not have to be a stay-at-home mom to do it either," she added. "I work and have school Monday through Friday, so I meal prep most of the lunches on Sunday."

The meals also help ensure Kascak eats vegetables, which aren't normally his favorite food. "He is not a huge fan of greens, but if I make it into a shape or character, it always comes back home half-eaten or sometimes even completely gone," his mom said.

Winston-Kascak recently shared a photo of some of her bento boxes on Twitter, and the images quickly went viral

Her tweet had over 67,000 likes at the time of writing.

"I thought it was just going to get a couple of likes from friends, but nothing at this level," she said of the tweet.

"I had no idea kyarabens were only popular in Japan, and I am so grateful for all the love I've been shown on my post," she said.

"I am so happy that I am able to share Japanese bento culture with people because they really are some of the best memories Japanese kids have growing up," Winston-Kascak added.

You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

• Read more:
• A mom turns her son's healthy meals into works of art inspired by popular characters and the designs are going viral
• A chef who once served $300 Michelin-starred dishes is now making $3 public school lunches, and they look just as tasty
• Instagram foodie moms share secrets for getting kids to eat fruits and veggies without a fight
• A chef makes desserts that look like random everyday objects, and his optical illusions will play tricks on your eyes

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