subscription boxes

Fun Activities for Dads to Do with Kids: Cooper & Kid Box Review

May 15, 2016 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Cooper & Kid for sending along a box for review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

We aren’t strangers to monthly subscription boxes around here. We’ve tried out a few dozen different types over the year, and find them to mostly be very enjoyable little boxes of fun. Cooper & Kid is a subscription box with fun activities for children, but this one is a bit different from other ones we have tried out because it is designed specifically for dads to do with their kids.

We were sent a spy kit to test out. Since it wasn’t for me to play with, I had to observe the process of Tim and the girls playing with the kit, and I noticed a few things that were particularly awesome, and a few things that were challenging.

Awesome Factor#1: EXCELLENT Design

The spy kit is very thoughtfully put together, and completely loaded with fun activities (I counted 5 different things to do) so that dads and their kids can explore the theme of the kit from many different angles.

Awesome Factor #2: Imagination Rules

You need to get ready to bring your pretending A-game, and I find that dads tend to be particularly excellent at this facet of play. There also seems to be an emphasis on adventure, which is another aspect of the kit that is probably going to draw the dads in a bit more than with other kits, which tend to be more craft-like in nature.

Awesome Factor #3: Great Memories

I know my girls will remember playing spies with their daddy for a long time to come. They play together all the time, but this was a new game for them! I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Now for what was challenging. Honestly, it was just one main thing: getting my husband to take the time to use the kit at all! Before I go on, I want to be clear: Tim plays with his girls all the time. They shriek when daddy walks in the door because he almost immediately starts playing monster with him (and if he doesn’t then they beg him to get started!). But I think the idea of having to read through a kit of products and ideas and then carry out those tasks was a little overwhelming for him, and so it took him over a month to do it, and it took me starting to nag him about it, which is never something I like to do.

Once the kit was played with, he said it was a great kit and very enjoyable and that he would do another one. But it was a hurdle to get him to try it, and even then he only got through 2 of the 5 activities! Obviously not everyone is going to have this same issue, but it gave me some pause about whether we were the best fit to become subscribers, personally. But with that said, the kits are designed to go out every 3 months, so that does leave plenty of time for dads to work though all the activities with their kiddos before the next kit arrives.

The Cooper & Kid kit can be purchased as a subscription, with the price being $65/kit. You will be set up to be billed every 3 months, but you can cancel at any time if the kit isn’t a good fit for you.

Hate Germs? Meet The Subscription Box of Your Dreams

March 7, 2016 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Squix for passing along sample products. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I always love getting to show you fun new subscription boxes. This one caught my attention because the focus is on a topic other than beauty, fashion or kids. This one is all about keeping yourself and your home nice and clean.

That’s right, it’s the subscription box that all the clean freaks out there have been dreaming about! 😉

This is Squix, and it’s a website that offers a la carte shopping of the latest and greatest in cleaning products, as well as a subscription box opportunity that is customizeable based on your particular cleaning needs.

In my case, I’m all about planet-friendly cleaning products, so Squix sent me some samples of some of their offerings. I’m definitely not a clean freak by any stretch, but I have to admit that it was pretty darn fun to get a box of new-to-me products to use in my home.

I was able to immediatley put the wood floor cleaner to use in my shark. I love that the formula was concentrated so that excess water and weight wasn’t being shipped all over the country. I just added my own to the mix. I also like concentrated formulas because they take up less space in my small home.

The Babyganics sanitizing wipes will come in handy for me in the car, even though I’m passed the baby season of my life. I’m still deep in the “messy kid” season, though, so these will be in our console for unforseen messes. There are 20 in the package; I predict they will be used up within 3 months. 🙂

I also especially liked the e-cloth, which is designed to use with stainless steel and with only water. I need to research how to use this one a bit more, as my first once over with my dishwasher resulted in only “sort of” clean results. I’m intrigued by the product, though, so I’m not ready to give up, yet!

A QBox, which is the Squix subscription box, is $21.98/month and could be a really fun way to get your cleaning product needs met without having to buy the items at the store. This is especially true in my case, where I probably wouldn’t be able to find some of these products at mass retailers, even with the increasing popularity of planet-friendly cleaning products. This is a great way to bring all the cool new stuff out there straight to my front door.

Take the short quiz from Squix to determine your QBox style and then give it a try (the first box is 50% off!). You’ll get 3 Squix products plus a surprise gift, and you can cancel at any time.

Educational Postcards in the Mail: Kiwi Bop Subscription

December 10, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Kiwi Bop for providing product samples. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

Friends here’s a really fun stocking stuffer idea for any young readers on your list (or an inexpensive gift idea)! Check out Kiwi Bop Postcard Pals.

This is an ideal gift for curious children who love to learn about new places and who love to see cool photographs. Each month, your child is sent 4 postcards from different postcard pals (there are 8 postcard pals that send notes…you hear from 4 of them each month). Each pal has something new and fun to show you from around the world (or even outer space!).

The welcome kit ships immediately and at the start of each month to follow, you’ll get 4 more postcards! The postcards are on a high quality paper. In order to send them on to others as actual postcards, you might have to cover up a bit of the printed material, but that’s certainly doable. That could be a fun way for cousins to stay in touch with each other!

A monthly subscription starts at just $3.59/month! You can order month by month, or get a 6-month membership or a 12-month membership. This might be just the thing you were looking for, so definitely check it out!

A Subscription Service for the Tea Aficianado: Just Add Honey

September 18, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Thanks to Just Add Honey for providng a box for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included.

I am a huge fan of the afternoon ritual of tea time.

Well, let me clarify: in my world, that looks like afternoon coffee time, but that particular ritul that is totally a part of the cultural fabric of England is spot on (pardon the pun). I have tried many times over to fall in love with tea so that I could do a proper tea time each afternoon. Alas, it’s just not in the cards for me. But I know many of you out there adore a delicious cup of tea, and if that’s you, then you need look no further than Just Add Honey.

This monthly subscription service offers its members exclusive blends of tea that come from small growers all over the world. The ingredients are organic and I can tell from first-hand experience, they smell AMAZING and they are beautiful, too.

This is petal pusher, which I sampled due to its medium caffeine content, which I needed mid-morning! It’s a blend of black tea and rose petals and the smell is intoxicating!

The directions for how much to use and how long to steep are on the package. You’ll get several cups from each package.

And let’s not forget that gorgeous honey!

Subscribers get a different yummy honey with each box (for the honey subscription or for the tea and honey subscription). This one is from Walker Honey Farm in Rogers, TX. It’s dark and YUMMY! I added a teaspoon to my tea after it steeped and thought it was delicious! Every box features a new jar of raw American harvest honey from small batched beekeepers. So cool!

If honey isn’t really your thing, you can also go for the tea subscription box. Pricing is as follows for the 3 types of boxes:

honey subscription box: $12.95
tea subscription box: $19.95
tea and honey subscription box: $29.95

If you or someone you know LOVES tea, then I think Just Add Honey offers something really special that you can’t just run to the store and replicate.

Coupon Code!

Want to give Just Add Honey a try? Use promo code YOYAL-I-TEA and you’ll get 20% off anything on the site!

Teaching Financial Literacy from a Young Age: Financial Adventure Subscription Review

September 15, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Thanks to Financial Adventure for providing review materials. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Affiliate links included.

A cousin of mine who is a financial planner recently introduced me to a totally new kind of subscription service for kids. We LOVE getting subscription boxes because it’s an easy way to do crafts and to try fun new products. This subscription service, though, is teaching a critial life skill to kids: money management!

The Financial Adventure subscription comes with a monthly packet of materials, and you can also get the starter packet, which has some extras like a calculator, a mock check book or a piggy bank.

I received samples from two of the three levels. What you will see below comes from piggy’s financial adventure (geared toward kids ages 5-7) and from the kids & teens packets (ages 8-18). There is also an advanced financial adventure packet for kids 13-18.

You get a worksheet for the month which includes a starting balance and various things that happen throughout the month (getting small financial gifts from family members, buying treats, etc.). You get play money to deposit into your piggy bank, and to take out when those transactions take place, and you get to do some addition and subtraction to keep up with your balance along the way. My 6-year-old hasn’t yet learned how to count money, so even though she’s in the age range for this set, she’s not ready for it. And that’s ok! She’ll be learning about this concept this year in school, and when that happens, we’ll use our financial adventure kit to do some real world practice!

In the set for kids & teens, you aren’t keeping your money in a piggy bank anymore, but instead in a checking account. You are also having to pay for things like your cell phone bill and gas. I think this might get a bit lost on the 8-year-olds, but this is SO perfect for teenagers who might be getting their first jobs, and who might be wishing for more expensive items, like the ability to drive a car or have their own phones. When kids grasp early on just how expensive it is to have all these luxuries, they are better equipped to take better care of them and to appreciate them more. They can also make better decisions about which ones might be worth it, and which items they should pass on, or at least wait for a sale! 🙂

I think this is a really great concept; by teaching kids some financial literacy early on, you are equipping them to make fewer money mistakes! I would recommend selecting the kit that sounds like the best fit for your child and staring with that level’s starter kit and a one month subscription to the financial adventure packet. After that point you can decide if it’s a great fit, and if so, go for the year subscription, because it’s the best deal at $10.95/month (vs. $14.95/month if you go month-by-month). I think this is an excellent investment to make in your kids’ future! 🙂

The Happy Trunk: Subscription Box for Simple, Kid-Friendly Projects

September 9, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Special thanks to The Happy Trunk for providing a sample for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In my house, we have fallen hard for subscription boxes. In particular, we are drawn to boxes that offer ready made activities and crafts for young kids. My girls love to do cool projects, and I love for them to get to do cool projects, but if you leave it up to me to plan those projects, I’ll be overwhelmed and on the verge of tears within about 10 minutes.

Y’all, I just don’t craft. But why should my lack of skills in this area come at a cost to my kids, especially if awesome options like The Happy Trunk exist?

When my oldest opened up The Happy Trunk, she immediately wanted to start doing projects, and I was so excited for her that I completely forgot to take a picture of the items in the box in their original state. Oops!

But let me show you some of the completed work we have done with the August box, which was focused on Hot and Cold. The Happy Trunk projects are STEAM focused, meaning that they combine elements of science, technology and math, expressed through engineering and art.

The first project was really an experiment to conduct with a spoon that is sensitive to heat. This was the most basic project in the kit (I mean…it’s just a spoon) but it was actually the most popular with my girls. They have played with it daily. It came with a card for experiment ideas. I would have liked to have seen the science of why the spoon changes colored explained, though.

The second project was also a big hit: making chalkboard coasters. The kit came with the paint, a paint brush, a paint cup, chalk and 2 cardboard circles to paint. This was VERY fun for my kids and they felt great making something that they would actually use. This is also a great chance to talk about condensation, though again, I think this is an area that could have been a bit more fleshed out in the materials.

The third project was to make a koozie. I had to first explain what a koozie was, truth be told! I sort of think koozies are pointless, but if you are going to have one, have one of the cute fabric ones. Darah thought it was awesome to be able to accessorize your drink, so she got right to work.

Unfortunately, the koozie kit we got had faulty velcro (two of the same side). I contacted Happy Trunk and they put a replacement project in the mail for me immediately, which I thought was great customer service.

We haven’t yet completed the final project, which is all about making ice creations with color. I thought this project had the most extensive list of possibilities. When we are ready to take the project on, we have several different things we can do, so that makes this particular craft more than a “one and done” which I really love.

Was the kit perfect? No, but I thought the flaw in our kit was handled really well. And I think the price point for the Happy Trunk is a positive, with the boxes running $17.95 each if you subscribe for a year ($19.95 each if you go month to month…shipping is free).

I also like that Happy Trunk has two age ranges, and therefore recognize that a an 9-year-old is going to need something different than a 3-year-old. You can select boxes for 3-7 or for 8-11. I thought this box, which is in the 3-7 range, was spot on for my kids.

I’d love to hear if you have tried Happy Trunk and what you thought of it. If you haven’t tried it yet and you’d love to have some craft projects that also throw in some math and science, give Happy Trunk a try!

Animal Trackers Club Subscription Service Review

June 16, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Complimentary box provided for review purposes. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I agreed to review the Animal Trackers Club subscription box for kids because my oldest is particularly fond of animals. Her favorite cartoon is Wild Kratts (all about different animals in the wild) and one of her favorite things to do is to tell anyone who will listen all sorts of interesting and even random animal facts.

The Animal Trackers Club seems designed for kids over 3, but probably not older than 5, based on the skill level of the activities included.

Our kit came with the following items:

Introduction to the Animal Trackers Club
Animal Trackers Club Safari Lunchbox
African Savanna Information Card
Cover and Ring for the Safari Animal Photo Collection
Savanna Art Project
Savanna Animal Cards Activity

Each month your child will receive:

Animal Information Card
Animal Play Figure
Animal Foam Mask
Animal Magnet
Safari Animal Photo Card
Learning Activity
Art Project

So the lunchbox is a one-and-done kind of deal. The box is $11.95 plus shipping each month. This subscrition service is a bit less expensive than many of the other subscription boxes I have tried, and I think you get what you pay for here, as the activities, in my opinion, lacked imagination.

I will say that this might be a great choice for the animal loving-child who isn’t particularly fond of arts and crafts. I think I was expecting activities that were a bit more involved, when the reality was that we had a few worksheets, each of which only took a few minutes to complete, a craft that involved styrofoam (yuck) and a sticker activity that took about 30 seconds.

Now with that said, the animal figure and the animal mask that came in the kit were big hits, and the girls played with them for quite some time. So I could see this being a draw to the child who loves to form a collection, as each month you will get an animal figure and an animal mask to stow away in your safari lunchbox so that you can easily play all sorts of animal-based imaginative games. But the other activities will be over and done surprisingly fast.

The activities also seem geared toward those just learning letters and numbers, which will make them too old for the 7 or 8-year old who really loves animals and might otherwise enjoy the subscription. I think the target age here is small (3-5?) but for that age group, it could be a hit. It wasn’t a hit for us, but it wasn’t a complete miss, and I should remind us all of its price point again, which is lower than most subscription boxes for kids.

M is For Monster Subscription Box for Pre-Readers

June 10, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Sample box provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone. Affiliate links may be included.

Today I want to show you a subscription box service that is absolutely perfect for you pre-reader. By pre-reader, I mean kids who are starting to work on identifying letters and/or letter sounds, but who aren’t yet writing or putting letters together to read words.

This makes the M is for Monster subscription box not quite the right fit for my oldest, who just finished kindergarten, but spot on perfect for my youngest, who just turned 3.

The box comes with a list of activities included (as well as supplementary resources if you want to dig a little deeper. I really love that extra thrown in there!). And the activities are grouped together by the suggested week. Each week is like it’s own little present to unwrap. This might be one of my very favorite things about the box…you get to experience the joy of seeing something new every single week instead of all at once! That’s just perfect for a preschooler!

I have kept our goodies under wraps so that Layah can have the full box experience each week, but here’s a peek from M is For Monster at the entire contents of the May box, which should give you an idea of the types of things you might find in any monthly box.

We started with week 2 (I know…OUT OF ORDER!) because I really wanted to read that book and because it included scratch ‘n sniff stickers, which is something I loved as a kid but that I’ve completely forgotten about and have never purchased for my girls. They were loved very much! 🙂 I also noticed that they happened to be from Peaceable Kingdom, which is a brand I recognize as having very high quality products.

We also had a lot of fun with the strawberry beach ball, though we quickly realized that it should be played with OUTSIDE. 😉

M is For Monster boxes deliver very high quality, and very thoughtfully curated activities for pre-readers.

The downside? M is For Monster is on the pricey end for kids’ subscription boxes. A single box is $42.95. You can save a bit by doing a month-to-month subscription for $38.95 (which you can cancel at any time). And I did notice a coupon on their website for getting 50% off your first box (I think you have to sign up for their newsletter).

This is the type of subscription that you would probably only want for 6 months, or so, and that may be why they don’t offer a set number of months for an additional discount.

Bottom line: I think it is very much worth a try, especially with that 50% off coupon!

I’d love to hear if you’ve tried this box, or if you have tried any other subscription boxes that you particularly love!

Homespun Fun, Delivered Monthly: Blossom Box Review

May 30, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Boxes provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

The subscription box market seems to be getting just a little crowded, especially when it comes to kid-friendly offerings. That means that buyers, like me, can be a bit ore choosy about what they select when looking for something fun for the kiddos.

I want to give a very strong recommendation for Blossom Box! While I don’t think it is the right subscription box for every single kid out there (and frankly, what subscription box would be?), I DO think it is a really great fit for kids ages 6-10 who love to use their imaginations, and who are intrigued by nature.

Blossom Box has a vibe to it that is different from any other subscription box I have yet encountered. It feels very homespun, and I mean that in a good way! Let’s take a closer look.

Here’s a look at the contents of April’s box, which was all about birds. Notice the natural materials included, such as bird feathers and bird seed. Even the individual projects come in these brown paper bags that give the entire box a natural feel.

May’s box is all about storytelling, with wooden figures and blocks as part of the offerings. Side note: I also noticed that the color pencils included were Crayola, which I definitely appreciated, because that’s one area where you get what you pay for with art supplies, so go for Crayola! 🙂

I found the May box to be too difficult for my youngest to get to play with as it involved some intricate cutting and sewing (to be fair, she just turned 3 a few weeks ago) and I even found it to be a bit of a stretch for my 5-year-old. So I’m tucking these activities away and will pull them out again next year when I think she’ll be more ready for them.

But the birds box was a huge hit with both of my kids! They loved making edible art for the birds with the birdseed.

We even took a few of the crafts with us on vacation, and made our own bird sculpture while we were there. It may not be the more realistic looking bird I’ve ever seen, but Layah sure was proud of her creation! She molded the clay just the way she wanted, and applied each and every feather herself.

And we also enjoyed trying out painting with feathers as our paintbrushes. The girls used both sides of the feathers and made some really cool paintings. We even had plenty of the tempera paint powder left over to save for future art projects, which was awesome!

I was very impressed with the art projects offered in the Blossom boxes. I can tell that a great deal of thought has gone into them, and the projects tend to use materials that are a bit different from what I’ve seen in other craft boxes. I do think they are a bit too advanced for your average preschooler, but that’s just my own opinion. I think this is a GREAT choice for an elementary school kid who loves art and nature. They come together beautifully in this monthly box.

Blossom Box is available for $19.95/month plus shipping (which is $4.95 per box). You can sign up month by month and cancel at any time, or you can purchase 3 month, 6 month and 12 month subscriptions for a discount, though with every plan, the shipping charge is added (my opinion? just wrap the shipping charge into the price of the kit and be done with it!).

Best believe this will be on our Christmas wish list this year! We loved it! 🙂

Coupon!

I’ve got a coupon code for anyone who wants to sign up for an ongoing subscription with Blossom Box. Use BLOOM at checkout and you’ll save 50% on your first box. Yay!