We’re getting down to the wire here for Christmas presents, which means it’s a perfect time to consider giving somebody a gift that isn’t supposed to arrive until two weeks after Christmas anyhow!
1. Graze – $6 – $10.99/box
I’ve been getting this box for two years now and I love it. It’s perfect for people who work from home and feel exhausted just thinking about having to create themselves a lunch (like me!) and would rather snack all afternoon long. If you want to join yourself and want to use my referral code MARIEB4PP then I’ll get a free box. Just a thought.
2. Birch Box – $10/month
It’s probably the most successful beauty box program currently on the market, with boxes filled with sample-sizes of new buzzy beauty products with an option to buy full-sized editions of your favorites.
3. Love With Food – $7.99 – $8.99/month
Queer women are notoriously particular about the food they eat, and so are the good folks over at Love With Food, who put together monthly boxes of new organic or all-natural foods (there’s a gluten-free option, too). Plus for every box you send, they donate a meal to a food bank. Order a deluxe box or a gluten-free box and two boxes are donated. If you wanna get one for yourself, you can get get 40% off on your first Tasting Box.
4. A+ Memberships – from $5 – $20/month
You can gift somebody the gift of Autostraddle! Plus they’ll get a sticker (gold members get t-shirts), have access to The Autostraddle Insider, the A+ Bee Community Newspaper, and lots of other fun stuff, too! There’s no actual subscription box involved but I think you should consider this anyhow. It’s for your own good. (Cobalt Memberships cannot be given as gifts, but are SO cheap you should consider getting one for yourself!)
5. Papirmass – from $5.75/month
This “art subscription for the culturally curious” delivers a brand new print every month — fresh artwork from upcoming artists, plus access to exclusive on-line content like conversations with artists, studio visits, and glaleries.
6. Toilet Paper Hero – $5.99 – $14.99/month
Yup. It’s uh… it’s toilet paper. You can give somebody the gift of actual toilet paper. You can pick the size of the pack based on the size of the household they’re delivering to, and they’ll never have to worry about having a regular stock of ultra soft plush strong durable two-ply toilet paper. Even the friend who has everything probably could use more toilet paper.
7. Mouth Boxes $37.50-$72/month
Mouth is so cool, their website is gorgeous, the food they sell comes from independent makers and is certifiably delicious. Whether your loved one is a foodie or a heavy drinker or an enthusiastic snacker, Mouth has something for them. The various ways they group foods together is pretty interesting, too, and yes, there’s stuff for vegans, too, and an adorable section specifically for college students.
8. Book Riot Box – $50/package
Get books and “bookish stuff” from the good folks at BookRiot every three months. Each package contains at least two books and other goodies have included a Grid-It Organizer, a Pop Chart Literary Genres Map, Shakespeare Candies, Books and Booze flask and Litographs Temporary Literary Tattoos.
9. Pairings Box – $25/month
Every month get an exclusive 7″ Vinyl, Digital Mixtape, 1-2 Premium Ingredients, 3 Seasonal Recipes and Tasting Notes. It’s a “curated food and music discovery service” from the Turntable Kitchen.
10. Bespoke Post – $45/month
Each month the fancy pantsy folks at Bespoke put together a “new collection of themed goods.” Specifically: “each box is a limited-edition, themed collection of men’s lifestyle gear from up-and-coming brands that we admire, spanning all areas of your day-to-day.” These areas include food, drink, style and grooming, so this is what happens when you outgrow Gym Tanning Laundry and become a dapper lady-gentleman or otherwise-identified human being.
11. BarkBox – $26-$39/month
Your giftee’s special friend will receive a box containing 4-6 all-natural treats and super fun toys, created around a different theme every damn month. If their dog doesn’t like any of the items, they can send it back and get something new!
12. Purr-Packs – $24.99-$39.99/month
Alternately, if your loved one is a cat lady and you’ve already bought her a copy of YES CATS!, then try a Purr-Pack, filled with custom-picked treats and toys for the cat themselves. You can pick flavor profiles and coat/fur color profiles, too.
13. Arcade Block – $19.99/month
Each block from the folks at Nerd Block includes 4-6 video game collectibles and one exclusive gamer shirt, delivered monthly. Arcade is one of many themes — they’ve also got special boxes for fans of Sci-Fi, Comics, Classic Nerd Stuff and Horror, as well as kiddie boxes (“Boys Jr” and “Girls Jr” but I dare you to get a girl a boy box and get a boy a girl box!)
14. Harry & David Fresh Fruit and Cheese Club – $33/month
Sometimes my Mom would send me just one Harry & David basket at boarding school (I always wanted the fruit-of-the-month club but alas) and Ingrid and I would smash that shit in like two days it was so delicious. Apples! Cheese! Nuts! REAL HUMAN FOOD! No but really, Harry & David has been sending you food every month before anybody else ever did…
…which means at this point in the development of their business, their selection at this point has spiraled wildly out of control. They’ve got Organic Fruit Club! BULB OF THE MONTH CLUB! Crystal’s favorite, The Cheesecake Factory Club! Chocolate Covered Fruit Club! Wine, Cheese and Fruit Club! You name the type of food you can put in your mouth and these folks will bring it to your door. If anybody wants to get me a fruit of the month club membership though the offer for you to give that to me still stands.
15. PowerUp Geek Box – $16.95-$25.45 / month
Catered to Geeks and Gamers, two demographic groups undoubtedly close to your heart, every month brings 4-9 items and a t-shirt, depending on the box you choose.
16. The Hatchery – $20/box
Another good pick for foodies, monthly Hatchery boxes introduce subscribers to independent makers around the country through small-batch ingredients and condiments — and each box comes with a booklet about the maker and the ingredient, as well as recipe ideas.
17. Scent Trunk – $15 – $18/month
The recipient will get a card directing them to the website where they’ll fill out their own personal scent profile, and get three personalized scents delivered every month. Perfect for blood hounds.
18. Bean Box – $17-$20/month
Bean Box sources from small-batch independent roasters in Seattle and offers a variety of ways to gift your over-caffinated friend with the monthly joy of really good coffee.
19. The Remedy Rush – $59/month
This is a good one to give your mom: all-natural and organic spa & body products delivered four times a year, one for each season.
also Quarterly. I’ve never subscribed to one but sometimes I look longingly at past boxes.
OK, wow, I thought Riese’s suggestions were great but this is amazing! I so want to get Bill Nye’s box for my husband and both Book Riot boxes for myself. But we’re trying to declutter, and I already have so many books I haven’t read yet…
I just realized that one of Riese’s links above is actually to the Book Riot Quarterly box. Ha.
whoops didn’t realize that either
Same, I never subscribe but often look and wish I had…
Another very affordable option – the Feminist Sticker Club
$2.50/month = a cute little sticker!
http://www.feministstickerclub.com/
That’s amazing. I may manage to resist the $50/quarter boxes but there’s no way I can resist this! I’m a feminist, I like getting stuff in the mail, and I use stickers all the time in my journal–it’s like this was made for me. Thank you for sharing the link!
I love CannaBox for the 420 users out there, less than $20 a month. <3 High Femme
Thanks for letting me know about this
One more: https://rawspicebar.com/. Great for people who love to cook and experiment with new flavors. Pretty affordable, too. Subscribed a couple months ago and really enjoying it.
This is great! Looks like there’s a “Refer a Friend” option. If you want to refer me, you’ll get a free box!
Rad! My referal code is http://fbuy.me/djU0z. Thanks a bunch, never used that before :)
Oh, that is so perfect for my sister!
Don’t forget the Sock Club. Sends a new pair of awesome socks monthly! Right around $12 a month! You can buy a yearly, 6 month, or 3 month subscription as well :-)
“Don’t forget the Sock Club” is just the quaintest thing anyone’s ever typed I bet.
What can I say… I love socks! They keep you from getting cold feet ;) Very important for the chronically indecisive.
Sock Club is such a cool idea. So I went looking but apparently sock clubs in the UK only do ‘mens’ sock, which look awesome but are unfortunately too big. Do they think small feeted people don’t get cold feet???? I AM A LADY WITH COLD AVERAGE SIZED FEET, I EXIST.
luv it
I don’t have a subscription yet, but I’ve seen this reviewed on Youtube and it looks super cute and fun. Japanese candy and snacks!
http://marimomarshmallowstore.com/pages/marimo-candy-club
I’m a pretty big fan of Ipsy! It’s basically like Birch Box, from what I’ve heard. It sends everything in cute little bags and it’s also $10 a month. I occasionally look up the prices of some of the stuff I get and I’ve received full-sized products that range anywhere from $15-$39!
This is a really dangerous post for me to read less than a month after moving back to a place where I can receive mail.
Never under-appreciate your postal system, folks. Mail is magic.
British Hipster Underwear! Super organic and uber fair trade (they empower a whole village and build schools, grow their own seeds,etc.)
Pants to Poverty delivers 4 packages of several undies over a year for a proud 178£, which is still a better deal than American Apparel.
http://www.pantstopoverty.com
The Scent Trunk link is not currently working, just a head’s up!
I’d like to suggest the Dollar Shave Club if you are someone like me that isn’t too fond of mass amounts of body hair. Their boxes can range from $1 dollar a box, with $2 dollar shipping to $6 dollar boxes with free shipping and $9 dollar boxes also with free shipping. This box includes a handle (in your first box) and 4 razor cartridges each box. You can also add shaving creams, after shave, face wipes and ever hair products for additional costs but it is all reasonably priced. There are bundles ranging from $14-$22 dollars, with free shipping, that allow you to save money by getting shaving cream and after shave along with the razor. What I really like is that you don’t have to get a box each month but you can schedule it so that you get one every other month, every couple of months or other personalized box options. The advertisement can be very “bro-y” but I think the product is worth suffering through it. The blades are great, the handle is heavy duty (I get the Executive bundle) and I have not had an ingrown hair since using the creams and after shave.
This comment probably sounds like I’m on their payroll. I just stand by the quality product.
A+ MEMBERSHIPS YOU GUYS!!!
$10-$60 A MONTH for Christmas? Good lord, you all are so generous with your Christmas presents!
Right? I don’t do Christmas anymore really, but when I did I was always amazed to see things advertised as “stocking stuffers” that were Actual Gifts to my family.
(Now I just use these gift guides to shop for myself, and I have to say, I have dug on Birch Box & Graze this year, though I let my subscriptions lapse this fall when I got a new debit card. Consumable subscription boxes are the best.)
Yeah, I thought the same! I like the idea of the feminist sticker club suggested above though! Cute and affordable.
there are also 3 and 6-month subscription options at most places! which is sliiiightly more affordable? this year i asked my mom to get my kids 3-month subscriptions to a couple of boxes (specifically nerd block jr and lootcrate) and i’m getting eli a 3-month subscription to tinkercrate. TINKERCRATE LOOKS SO COOL.
Yeah, they all look super neat. And a three-month subscription sounds like a great idea! We just have a great big extended family situation where everyone gets and gives, so those bills get crazy fast :-)
For reals tho if someone can get me that toilet paper subscription it would solve SO MANY problems, namely, that I hate running out to the store
AMEN.
love it!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/KillThePatriarchy?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I got my girlfriend a NatureBox subscription this year for Hanukkah/Christmas (she celebrates Hanukkah, I celebrate Christmas), and she loved it. And I loved picking out the snacks for her! They have so many great snacks!
Plus every Podcaster and their mother has a deal with the Nature box it seems. You can input their code to get the first box for free. I know “The Read” has that discount code.
I love NatureBox too. Mine was a lifesaver when I was cramming for exams, and their snacks are pretty yummy. Plus they ship to Canada!
I wanted to gift a Cobalt membership
:(
My dog loves her BarkBox
Ditto. Penny actually treats one of her BarkBox toys (a blue crinkly “Pawxford” pennant” like a teddy bear – she brings it to bed every night. And when she destroyed one of their toys inside of 5 minutes, they sent a more durable replacement free of charge.
Vinyl Me Please is awesome way to find new music and build a hefty record collection. Each record comes with a print, a drink recipe, and a lil something something from the artist