Get It in the Mail! 10 Best Subscription Boxes for Kids

OK, so your kiddo is craving more things to do, more art, science, projects – and you feel like you are running out of ideas! Consider subscription services to keep the kids busy with fun (and surprising!) activities sent directly to them in the mail.
Each month, your children will receive a crate with books, art projects, magazines, or enriching games to learn about their world. The best part? These services are themed, so whether your children are bookworms, inventors, or the next Picasso, you can find a kit to spark their imaginations.

Go for Arts and Crafts with Kiwi Crate

Are your little kiddos budding artists? Then they’ll fall in love with Kiwi Crate. Every month, your themed crate will arrive with all the supplies you need for 2-3 special arts and crafts projects. For instance, the Fun with Flight crate gives you everything you need so that your youngster can build a kite and experiment with rubber band-powered rockets, while the Glowing Animals crate gets you making adorable jellyfish and glowworms.

You can pick from popular boxes or go for a surprise me subscription plan. Boxes will be tailored to your child’s gender and sibling discounts are available. A single crate will cost you just under $20 + shipping. Or go for a subscription plan: $60 for 3 months, $110 for 6 months, or $205 for the full year.

Get Cooking with Kidstir

If your children would rather watch Emeril than Sponge Bob, then foster their love for cooking with a subscription to Kidstir, a company founded by moms to build a “happy and healthy connection to food” in their young clients.

Each kit has a different theme, such as Sandwich Shop, Snack Happy, and Bake Day! Boxes are packed with additional activities such as the Farmer’s Market Hunt and recipes to try with your little one to encourage a love of healthy and delicious food. Subscriptions are $19.95 per month.

Read It All with GiftLit

Foster a love of reading with GiftLit and make good literature a life-long passion! Parents can sign up for a 3-, 6, or 12-month subscription, based upon age and interests. The books sent to you have been hand-picked by experts in the field of children’s lit, making it a fantastic gift for the reader in your life. Or customize your subscription and choose the books you would like your child to receive. Books within the package can be substituted or returned.

A three month subscription runs in the $50 range, 6 months for roughly $100, and 12 months for $230.

Build Your World with Pley

Love Legos but don’t want a million bricks clogging up your vacuum cleaner? Pley keeps your child’s creativity fresh and ever changing without ravaging your pocketbook. This subscription, sponsored by the Lego Company itself, allows you to essentially “rent” Legos, play with them to your heart’s content, then trade them in for something new!

When you sign up, you create a “Pley List” of the toys you would be interested in so your little one can build them all in turn. The sets are themed and include everything from Mine Craft to Pop Star Limo! The popular Builder plan gets you 155 pieces every month for $19.99; and the Master plan a whopping 400 pieces at $49.99 per month.

Get Gaming with Loot Crate

For the gamer in your life, nothing is better than a Loot Crate. This company, which caters to “gamers, geeks, and nerds,” will send a mystery crate to your child each month with different gamer-themed toys and products. Each month has a different theme with collectibles, gadgets, games, apparel, and accessories. Fantasy Crates, for example, recently featured products from Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Dungeons and Dragons.

A single month plan will set you back about $20, roughly $60 for 3 months, $114 for 6 months, and $216 for the full year.

Engineer Big Ideas with Tinker Crate

Love Kiwi Crate but you feel like you may have outgrown it? Check out Tinker Crate, designed for the creative-minded future engineers and scientists. Your monthly crate will come with a hands-on experiment or project in different areas of science or technology. The crate includes a project, step-by-step instructions, as well as magazine and tutorials for further exploration. Like the Kiwi Crate, these crates are themed and cover a wide range of scientific subjects.

A single month subscription will cost you $19.95, and the monthly rate goes down to $16.96 per month if you sign up for the full twelve.

Discover the World with Junior Explorers

For the budding adventurer, a Junior Explorers subscription is a wonderful gift. Each month, your child will get to explore a different habitat or part of the world with games, activities, and projects that provide hours of educational fun. Past kits have featured places as diverse as the Arctic, the Brazilian rainforest, and the Serengeti. Great for children who love nature and wildlife, these kits are set on “inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.”

A single monthly mission costs $19, $49 for 3 months, $95 for six months, and $185 for the year.

Imaginative Fun with My Pretend Place

You don’t have to wait for Halloween to play dress-up. The costumes, games, projects, and activities in the My Pretend Place themed crates will let your children’s imaginations soar! Imaginative play is so very good (and fun!) for a child’s cognitive development, and with the variety of themes to choose from, including Astronaut, Princess and Pirate – your kids will not get bored. Boxes arrive quarterly and are filled to the brim with costumes, crafts, books, and activities – just the right kid-tested items to inspire pretend play (without taking over!).

Each box is $50. You can return boxes or cancel your subscription at any time.

Experiment with Spangler Science Club

A subscription to the Spangler Science Club will give your future scientist a monthly crate full of hands-on science projects (which includes tools, supplies, and instructions), as well as magazines and other resources to learn more about science. Each month will have a different theme, such as The Power of Air or Kitchen Chemistry, and the kits include all the materials you need (no shopping for Borax here!). Instructions are easy enough for kids to follow (and feature Spangler’s signature humor).

Each kit will set you back $9.99 or $29.99 for the deluxe package.

Start Sprouting with Our Little Roots

Are your children happiest playing in the dirt? Give them a monthly garden in a Our Little Roots box and let them explore nature from a single, simple seed. Foster your child’s love of gardening by signing up for a 1-, 3-, 6- or 12-month plan. Each box is curated by experts to match your location and hardiness zone. All seeds are non-GMO and organic soil is provided. Select fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers and plant your own edible garden.

A single box costs about $12, a 3 month subscription is $28.50, $48 for 6 months, and $90 for the annual plan.

Are you planning on getting a subscription service for your kids? Which one will you go for?