Subscription Boxes | Pad Patter 8.13

I have never tried a subscription box. If I did one I would want full control over what came each time.

 

The only subscription box that I used to do was a watercolor box from Let's Make Art. I loved it, but I couldn't keep up with all of the fabulous projects, so I quit it awhile ago. I still haven't caught up on all of those projects. Whoops!

 

When my DD was in high school we used to get the Sephora sample box - it was only $10/mo and when it arrived we'd go through the stuff (all kinds of little skin-care, makeup and perfume samples) and divvy up who wanted what. Very fun but after a while we ended up with so many tiny little mascaras and stuff that we stopped.

During the pandemic shut-downs, I subscribed to the Shaker & Spoon cocktail box for my hubby -- they send you everything you need for 12 gourmet cocktails (3 recipes with enough to make 4 of each drink) including fancy syrups and bitters and garnishes. Every month is built around one type of alcohol. So, for example, January is often Ginuary and they are all gin cocktails. The cocktails are really good and it has been great for him - especially during the pandemic - but he has been having some A Fib issues and so some of the boxes have stacked up here as he has cut back on drinking.

We also subscribe to the Home Chef meal box which is always good although I'm taking a break from it for a while since we have our adult kids coming and going and never know how many are here for dinner.

 

I just tried out Scentbird. I suck at perfume, and my husband has used it for awhile now. So, he referred me. LOL! They send you perfume samples in a decent size, so you can try them out and see if you want a full size. Without having to go to a mall and smell all the smells at once! You can pick which ones you want them to send, which I like, because there were a few I wanted to try first, like the Not a Perfume by Juliette has a gun. I don't know how long I'll subscribe, but it is helpful to find a scent.

Previously, we've done Kiwi Crate (different ages) and those are nice. My kid has outgrown them now, despite the ages listed. I get a 2 writing prompts monthly through a digital subscription service. But that might be a whole other thing!

 

We used to do Graze box. It's a snack box subscription. We liked the contents but they changed the amount they shipped and we just couldn't get it all eaten before the next box arrived.

 

I got Tokyo Treat for about 6mths for DS during the pandemic. He, unlike my DD has adventurous taste & was loving learning Japanese thru school (it may have been online at that point). The shipping fees really killed this for me but seeing the (to us) unusual food flavours & combo's of their (shelf stable) snacks was interesting. I only learnt about Kiwi Crate after DS was beyond that level of 'making' stage otherwise I would have looked into it more.
I've done blind bags/grab bags thru other more local stores but was never wowed or saw enough value in them to subscribe after them. Guess I'm too picky.

 

We currently do SnackCrate.... which has been pretty good. We look up the snacks and then read about them.... then eat them... sometimes its a couple of us, sometimes all of us. Can't eat it alone,lol!

I have StitchFix... and I kept it basically since it's free clothes every month to choose from. Somehow... I don't know how... I received a deal. I pay $50 up front for a year of boxes (It's usually $20 a month)... then if and when I choose some clothes, the $50 is like a credit and only charges me after that $50 is used up. So, it costs me $50 but I get $50 worth of clothes at least by some point in the year.

 

Clara and I did that too! It was fun, especially when Clara was that age and experimenting a bit more with make up. Now she rarely wears it and has her favorites (plus we too amassed quite a collection of tiny products and the bags it all came in... they still resurface occasionally)

I did StitchFix years ago and a couple of years ago I did Wantable. I loved getting those boxes in the mail! But I also found that I kept things that I had no real intention of ever wearing just because I got caught up in the moment.

Clara was recently diagnosed with POTS and someone on Etsy does a POTS subscription box that includes different brands of electrolytes and compression socks... she's itching to subscribe lol!

 

A few years ago, I got a one-year subscription to Birchbox (high-end beauty products) as a Christmas present. It was really fun to get the monthly goodies, and I was introduced to some lovely products that I would never actually purchase (too spendy for my frugal beauty budget!).

I probably wouldn't purchase a subscription box for myself, but I think it makes a great gift!

 

Neelix did the Bark box for awhile ..but he kept destroying the toys .. even the super chewer ones. Like ripping rubber chunks off and it wasn't worth my money

I like to cook so we have tried all the home chef like boxes you can imagine.. lol.. like every one.. but I decided it's cheaper just to buy my own. ..items and find recipes on pinterest because my kids and man like to eat not so normal amounts of food

Otherwise we haven't tried many boxes although I've always wanted to try a treat box with treats from around world

 

I did love those cooking boxes cause I got to try recipes I'd normally not eat..and different foods but with Eric's job.. being a stocker at Walmart and his long hours and teens. And when Bianca raids my fridge. It's hard to keep everyone fed. If that makes sense. Lol. We like food.
So I still experiment with different foods and make menus. Just see what's on sale and make menus off that using pinterest. . We have themed nights and still try tons of fun recipes... just had a African peanut stew the other day...

 

I did one through Pippi Post. Each month I would get a handful of misc cards and other things like confetti, banners, washi tape, treat bags, stickers, gift tags, notepads, etc. It just depended on what she created for that month.

I LOVED always having cards on hand for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, thank yous, or just blank cards for whatever.

I did eventually get so much stuff that it was overflowing out of the bin that I had purchased for it, so I canceled. I do miss the fun mail each month and wouldn't hesitate to re-subscribe.

 

@IntenseMagic We've done BarkBox a few times here. Our first dog, Stitch, adored it, and he loved toys so it was perfect. The few that he tore up, we contacted them and they sent a new toy. Our current dogs: Zeus got Barkbox, and he liked toys so I did the year because it was cheaper. Then he decided he didn't like toys. So, he ate the treats out of the boxes and we set the toys aside. Then, Apollo came. Over a year later, Apollo is getting "new" toys that have been stashed in the boxes. I'm impressed at how well the toys hold up since Apollo isn't the super chewer/destroyer that Stitch was. We watch for deals. But, you can also try out the treats and toys from Target. They are cheaper in the box, and there's more variety in the box.

 

I gifted myself an Allure beauty box subscription a few years ago for my birthday. I really liked it - It contained many full sized, good quality products. It was a great way to try products I hadn't heard of or wouldn't have purchased at retail price. I ended up dropping it after 4 months only because there was no way I was going to have time to use all the products. I wish they did a quarterly box, rather than monthly.