Subscription boxes have exploded in popularity in recent years, and it’s no wonder: a personalized delivery of goodies to your door on a regular basis? How fun! It’s a little surprise to look forward to every month.
Kids are no exception, and fortunately, there is no shortage of offerings. Whatever the child in your life is interested in, there is a subscription box that’s just right for them.
$34.90 per month
MEL Science is the perfect subscription for your brilliant budding chemist, aged 10 and up. Not only will they get lab equipment and all the supplies needed for guided experiments, but they also get VR (virtual reality) lessons and live chemistry classes with actual science teachers. Kids get a hands-on educational experience by growing crystals, burning metals, building a battery, and creating snow.
Each month’s kit includes 2-3 experiments, with extra supplies to try again in case of mistakes—not uncommon for beginner scientists. There are 24 total kits, for 2 full years of monthly discoveries. Subscriptions cost $34.90 per month and can be paused, canceled, or reactivated at any time. Discounts apply to gift subscriptions, which are paid 9-12 months at a time.
$25 per month
When the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted church attendance for both parents and kids, Grace Chapel was inspired to create Family Kits. Their stated mission is to “equip families to create healthy spiritual rhythms at home.” Each kit comes with a fun, interactive Bible activity for kids, and a guidebook with plenty of tools and resources for parents to guide their families in God’s Word.
With or without a pandemic, learning more about God and the Bible together as a family is one of the best things parents can do for their children. With Family Kits, it’s a lot of fun, too!
A subscription costs $25 per month; taxes and shipping are included in the price.
$19.95 to $29.95 per month
KiwiCo’s monthly ‘crates’ garnered awards from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, the Parent’s Choice Foundation, Dr. Toy, and Purdue University. For kids who love to build, invent, tinker, or create, these age-specific projects are irresistible. Kiwi offers eight different lines, designed for various ages and interests, including science, engineering, art, design, geography, and culture.
Kiwi has a line for babies and can grow with your child and change with their interests. Switching lines is easy, so when your young artist suddenly wants to learn about engineering, Kiwi has you covered. Lines range in price from $19.95 per month to $29.95 per month, with discounts if you pay for three, six, or 12 months at a time.
Price varies
The popular clothing subscription for adults has expanded to offer style fixes for your little fashionista. Your child’s personal stylist learns what your kid likes, and sends 8-10 items for them to try. You set your price range in each clothing category and only pay for what you keep. If your kiddos love it all, you get 25% off the total price. Returns are free for items that don’t make the cut.
A subscription isn’t required, but shopping-averse parents may appreciate the time a monthly shipment saves.
$22.95 per month
Inspire curiosity about the world and its people with a Little Passports subscription for your young adventurer. The first delivery includes an adorable blue “suitcase,” a passport, and a big world map for their wall. Each month, they’ll receive country-specific crafts and/or souvenirs, stickers, activity booklets, “pen pal letters” from Little Passport characters, and real coins to add to their country coin board. They also get access to special online content.
Little Passports offers several lines targeted to different age groups, as well as a USA-specific line, and lines with a focus on science.
Subscriptions cost $22.95 per month, with progressively better discounts for paying 6 or 12 months at a time.
$24 per month
This delightful subscription is a cooking club for kids. Designed for ages 4-14+, kids and adults alike can enjoy these monthly kits together. Each kit comes with three recipe guides: laminated, illustrated, step-by-step instructions for making that month’s themed recipes. Yes, you can expect themes based on the season, a holiday, or a geographic region. They’ll also email you a shopping list before your kit is shipped, so you can be ready to cook as soon as your recipes arrive.
Kits also include a quality kitchen tool, a creative food or kitchen-related craft or game, and an iron-on apron patch. A Raddish apron comes free with a 6 or 12-month subscription, or aprons can be purchased separately.
Kits never repeat, so your little chef can look forward to a new culinary experience each month.
Subscriptions cost $24 per month with discounts for paying 6 or 12 months upfront.
$29.99 per month
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) studies are in the spotlight thanks to our rapidly shifting job market that is increasingly valuing these skills. Newsweek awarded this subscription box “Best in STEM 2021.” You can’t go wrong with this crate for a kid who loves electronics.
These are serious projects for kids ages 12 and up, although younger kids with advanced skills can also tackle them. Each kit increases in difficulty as your child learns new components and commands.
Watch as your young technician in training builds a mood lamp, then moves on to build a weather station, then an audio visualizer. A total of 18 challenging projects await. They’ll have help every step of the way with online instructions, video tutorials, and even personalized troubleshooting support.
Kits cost $29.99 per month, or you can have projects delivered in groups once every 3, 6, or 12 months for a discounted price.
Highlights Top Secret Adventures
$18.93 per month
This highly-rated subscription from the respected children’s book and magazine publisher is for young, mystery-loving detectives and adventurers. Each new mystery is set in a different country and comes with a mission assignment letter—which contains a code your child will have to crack.
Next, they’re on to the world Guidebook, packed with facts and photos from that month’s country. They’ll need to search for clues in the guidebook; finding the clues is key to solving the mystery and capturing the villain! And they won’t forget the challenging Puzzle Book: it has activities, games, word finds, more clues, and of course, puzzles.
The first delivery comes with a world map, a passport with visa stickers, and a spy key ring to keep the souvenir tags that will come with each mission.
Encourage your child’s natural curiosity and desire to solve mysteries with this fun, educational subscription. It arrives about once every three weeks and costs $15.95 per kit, plus $2.98 for shipping and handling.
$29.99 per month
Your bookworm will go gaga over this middle-grade book subscription box, for readers ages 8 to 12. Each month brings a new theme, a brand new book, a handwritten author letter, an OwlCrate Jr. magazine, and multiple bookish, theme-related goodies.
Past book boxes have featured themes like “Winged Beasts,” “Written in the Stars,” and “Epic Quests.” As for the goodies, you never know what treasures you might unpack: anything from journals to beanies, gel pens to socks, tote bags to stickers. And they all fit perfectly with the theme.
Monthly subscriptions cost $29.99, with discounts for paying for 3 or 6 months at once.
$11.95 to 17.95 per month
For the kid who loves color and pizzaz, who wants to personalize their water bottles and tablets and notebooks and journals and everything else they can get their hands on, Pipsticks provides the stickers to do it. That’s right: it’s a subscription box just for stickers and the people who love them. (Pipsticks isn’t designed specifically for children, but plenty of children will love it.)
Packs include a magazine for sticker lovers, a pouch for keeping stickers safe in one spot, and some paper goodies as well.
Choose between the Classic Pack for $17.95 per month, or the Petite Pack for $11.95 per month.
$39.95 per month
Delight your outdoorsy kid, or maybe inspire a couch potato to put down the screen and go explore nature. After an intro box, which includes a foldable daypack (you choose the color), monthly themed boxes will challenge and excite your young explorer with family challenges, water-resistant resource cards, an educational booklet, hand-on activities, and the most fun part to unbox: 3-5 pieces of quality outdoor gear to add to their backpack.
Themes like shelter, knots, first aid, fire, and navigation will teach your child valuable skills and build a sense of self-confidence and independence.
Boxes cost $39.95 per month, with discounts when you pay for 3, 6, or 12 months at a time.
$40.95 per month
The items in this monthly box are specially curated by pediatric occupational therapists and focused on children with autism and/or sensory needs. But any child will be thrilled with these stimulating, sensational, sensory toys. The therapeutic nature of the items can be soothing for children with anxiety—some of the toys even employ aromatherapy.
Boxes cost $40.95 per month, with a discount if you prepay for 6 months’ worth.
$16 per month
For the kid who can’t get enough fun, colorful, whimsical socks, you can’t go wrong with a subscription to Panda Pals. The popular sock site, Sock Panda, will send them 2 new pairs each month. Each pack also includes a mystery prize and a fun ‘socktivity’.
Best of all, with each new subscription, Sock Panda donates a pair of socks to those in need. So far, they have donated well over 100,000 pairs of socks to homeless shelters, underprivileged schools, hospitals, and low-income senior centers.
Choose from their kids’ line for ages 3-8, or their tween line for ages 8-11. A subscription costs $16 per month, with a discount for paying every 6 to 12 months.
No matter what the special child in your life likes, you can find a subscription box that’s perfect for them!
