This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Citrus Lane.
(Please enjoy how I accidentally focused on a pillow instead of my kid.) I agreed to do a review + giveaway for Citrus Lane because we’ve been getting a Citrus Lane box once a month for about six months now. It’s something that we love and recommend (and I normally talk about it anyhow so doing a sponsored post about it is a nice bonus!)
It’s kind of a big deal in our house, Scarlette calls it her “prize” and looks forward to opening it. Typically I film us opening a box and put it on youtube, along with my referral link, and so I don’t actually pay full price for any of my boxes because usually I have some referral credits to put towards it. Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription box that is full of goodies and essentials like toys, books, snacks and personal care products.
So along with my photos, I’m posting our open box video here since Scarlette is all about making the videos lately (she really loves making videos because she likes watching herself on the webcam.)
Here is a little disclaimer about this box: they sent these boxes specifically for bloggers to review and so it wasn’t really typical of a normal box. Everything in it was something that we had received in a past subscription box from them over the last couple of months and normally the boxes are filled out a little more. So honestly, I feel like for you to get a really good feel of what our boxes are normally like it would be better to watch some of our open box videos from the boxes that we’ve paid for in the past. Here are a couple that will give you a good peek into the boxes: Citrus Lane May Box, Citrus Lane March Box
Since what arrived in this box are duplicates of what we already own from past boxes, we’ll be donating these along with our other Toys For Tots items but I did want to give you my thoughts on them!
Here is a better peek at what a box typically looks like, taken by a professional, obviously.
What I like about Citrus Lane is that it is NOT a box full of toys. This is a fun way for Scarlette to get a surprise treat while also getting some useful items. There is normally some sort of eco-friendly learning toy, such as an instrument or like last month’s box, which held beeswax crayons and a drawing tablet. There is also usually a book, which this literature loving mama appreciates. We actually received the Ladybug magazine a few boxes back and Scarlette loved it so much that her aunt got her a subscription for her birthday. And often there is a full size bath/body/cleaning product. This summer we received full sized tubes of all natural sunscreen and bug-repellent and I liked that because that was something I would be spending money on anyhow.
Another things I like about Citrus Lane is that it introduces us to new products that are keeping with our family values. For example, the first time I tried The Honest Company products were when we received their body was + coupons in one of our Citrus Lane boxes. Now we use them regularly. The toys are normally eco-friendly and learning based, like a puzzle or Scarlette’s favorite, a Melissa & Doug paint set. We’ve gotten several Hohner Kids instruments in our boxes and they have been a HUGE hit in our house. Since we pulled Scarlette out of preschool because of her preemie issues, we do “preschool at home” and so we have music time every day and she marches around playing her drum or her rhythm sticks.
A lot of the suggestions I have on my list of 25 non-toy gifts for Christmas are actually things that I discovered in our Citrus Lane boxes over the past few months!
Some sort of organic snack is usually included, along with coupons. Scarlette tends to eat these as soon as she opens the box 🙂
What was NOT included in this box was a gift for mom and usually there is something small for the mamas in each box! So far I’ve gotten some great treats, such as Julep nail polish or Pangea Organics lotion.
The retail value of everything in the box is always more than the actual cost of the box itself and we have liked our boxes every month, which is why we’re still getting them. Citrus Lane just opened a shop where you can get some of the awesome products that are in the boxes. The products are chosen by popularity and parent recommendations, which is really nice (I love the musical instrument selections!)
Anyhow, I think these make excellent gift idea. You can choose to do just one box but I think a 3 month subscription makes a really fun birthday or Christmas gift for a kid because a) who doesn’t love getting mail? and b) how fun is it for kids to get something for their birthday for a couple of months AFTER their actual birthday?!
Want to win a $25 voucher to the Citrus Lane shop? Enter using the easy instructions in the Rafflecopter box below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
All the fine print:
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Citrus Lane. New customers who purchase a subscription will receive $10.00 off their first month with code BLOGPOST. Expires 12/31/2013.
Offer Terms: Discount may only be applied to subscriptions purchased by new Citrus Lane customers. It cannot be applied to gift subscriptions. Subscriptions automatically renew to full retail price, $25 per month. You may cancel anytime.
For more information, visit http://www.citruslane.com.
