I owe my faithful followers an apology. I’m a little late reviewing this month’s box. I was on vacation all of last week, and so didn’t open the box until this morning. But hey, I’m getting it up ASAP, so I deserve a little credit, right? I began subscribing to Citrus Lane for my infant daughter back in November. In December we received our first box, and I began reviewing each box to determine whether or not Citrus Lane was worth the subscription price. This was the last box in my six month subscription, and I have renewed for another six months. I considered renewing for a full year, but the per box price for six months and one year are the same. I plan to continue with my reviews and six month wrapups going forward.
For those of you who don’t know, Citrus Lane is a subscription service for children aged 0-5 years. You can subscribe on a month to month, three month, six month, or one year basis beginning when you are pregnant (you will receive “newborn” aged boxes until your baby is born), or gift a subscription to a friend or family member. With your subscription each month you get a variety of well-curated items for you or your baby, often both, chosen by real parents that are chosen for you based on your child’s age and gender (there is a neutral option). The items are always a surprise, and you cannot specify that you would like a certain item.
I have reviewed all five of my previous boxes, you can see those reviews here:
December
January
February
March
April
May 2013 Box
I attempted this month to open the box with Baby Girl once again. She was much more interested this time and tried to pull everything out of the box. Way more fun that previous months, to be sure. She’s starting to get the hang of it. This month we received a box geared toward a ten month old, and I specified gender neutral.
What was in the box:
Item 1: Bear Takes a Trip from Barefoot Books
Retail Price: $6.99
Bought it Anyway? Yes
Notes: Books are always a good thing to get in the Citrus Lane boxes, in my opinion. I don’t think you can ever have too many books, and Baby Girl just loves to be read to or play with her sturdy board books. We’ve received books from Barefoot Books before, and we like them. This isn’t the best board book we own by a long shot, but the illustrations are good, the text is short and rhymes, and it is fun. This book focuses on how to tell time, which isn’t exactly age appropriate, but since the story is fun, that is an activity that can be saved for later, and the book can grow with Baby Girl, which is nice.
Use coupon code DISCOVER for 20% off your order at barefootbooks.com
Item 2: Stacker from Green Toys
Retail Price: $14.99
Bought it Anyway? Yes
Notes: I love that we got this toy in our box this month. While we have never received anything from Green Toys in our Citrus Lane boxes before, we did receive a gift voucher back in December that I used to purchase the Green Toys Twist Teether, which is still a huge hit with Baby Girl and one of her favorite toys. I love that their toys are made from 100% recycled products, and that they are just great toys as well, so you are buying something because it’s really great, not just because it’s environmentally friendly. Baby Girl has been playing with the stacker a lot today, so it is definitely a hit so far!
Use coupon code CLSPRING13GT for 10% off your order from shop.greentoys.com through June 30, 2013.
Item 3: Yum Yummy Baby Cookies from Ella’s Kitchen
Retail Price: $3.99
Bought it Anyway? Yes
Notes: Hooray for this item! A lot of the time when we receive food in our Citrus Lane boxes, it is frustrating, in that they send us one of something. If something comes in a 5 pack or a 2 pack, they often break the pack a part and we get one. How frustrating when it is food! I can’t imagine having a toddler open their box, wanting to eat something immediately, and not having another to give them later. This time, we didn’t get just one of the individually wrapped Yum Yummy Baby Cookies, we got a full back of twelve, and I am grateful. I make Baby Girl’s baby food myself, and I find it frustrating that so many finger foods are full of stuff I don’t want to give her. These are a great substitute for graham crackers in your infant’s diet, and they smell deliciously like ginger snaps. I gave one to Baby Girl this morning, and while they were extremely messy, she really seemed to love them, and they are stiffer than graham crackers, making them better for teething.
Item 4:Dish Liquid from Dapple
Retail Price: $1.99
Bought it Anyway? No
Notes: Not my thing. I’m not a crunchy enough mama to think that I need special dish soap for my baby’s dishes. The dish soap I currently buy is soap. It does a fabulous job of cleaning all of our dishes. Yeah, I don’t need yet another product taking up space so that I can use it only on specific baby items. Sorry. That being said, maybe this is exactly what you’ve been looking for in your parenting life. The company makes lots of cleaning products specifically for baby. A niche? Yes. Necessary? No.
Item 5: Moisture Stick from Deep Steep
Retail Price: $5.95
Bought it Anyway? No
Notes: Every once in awhile you get a mommy item in your Citrus Lane box. For the most part, I’m not a fan. I pamper myself in non-conventional ways, and I don’t usually need organic lip balm or body wash to make me feel good. The baby items is why I signed up, end of story. This is a nice item, and I like that it’s cruelty free. It smells nice, and I may use it. But I probably won’t. I like my skincare routine. It works for me. This is a product I’ve never used before, and it’s a little pricy for me to say I would buy it for myself. Another item that just isn’t my thing. The company seems nice enough, and they have a lot of beauty care products along the same vein.
Use coupon code citruslane20 for 20% off your order at deepsteep.com through June 30, 2013.
In Summary: Is It Worth It?
Items I would definitely have bought before the box: $25.97
Items I love now that I have them: $0.00
Total value of stuff I’m glad I got: $25.97
Subscription price: $25 per box for month to month or 3 month subscription, $21 per box for six month or one year subscription
Answer: YES
Well, it took them to the last month of my first six month subscription, but they finally gave me a box where the yes items total value was more than the most expensive subscription price. I think that can be a wholehearted yes, don’t you? The truth is, I really do love this service, and the last six months have been very nice. They’ve had their ups and downs, but they’ve been very nice. To tell the truth, I haven’t actually purchased out of pocket any of Baby Girl’s favorite toys in the last six months. They have all either been gifts, or I have received them directly or indirectly from Citrus Lane. That right there is a pretty high compliment.
The Six Month Wrapup
So is it worth it as a whole? The six month subscription in Citrus Lane’s least expensive per box option. It costs $21 per box. Here’s the run down of what value I received in my previous boxes:
December
Comment: The big comment I should make about the December box, is that I have totally changed my mind about the Chewbeads bracelets in the last six months. When I remember to wear them, they are an absolute lifesaver if Baby Girl gets fussy, and she loves to teeth on them. Really brilliant. I should also say that I used the gift voucher from ecomom to purchase two of Baby Girl’s favorite teething toys.
Total Value of Box: $65.48 The most valuable box I have received!
Total Value to Me: $63.48
January
Comment: None
Total Value of Box: $34.18
Total Value to Me: $31.99
February
Comment: While I said No to the Kushies washcloths at the time, and I still don’t think they are worth their MSRP (they hold up about the same as my cheapo versions by Circo that someone bought me at Target), we do use them all the time.
Total Value of Box: $43.17
Total Value to Me: $31.17
March
Comment: None
Total Value of Box: $40.94
Total Value to Me: $30.45
April
Comment: I ended up finding a use for the Honest Company Shampoo/Body Wash in this box. Because it is a combo in one bottle, I packed it to go on vacation last week, rather than packing two bottles. It saved space and effort.
Total Value of Box: $35.92
Total Value to Me: $26.93
Six Month Summary
Total Value of Subscription: $219.69
Total Value to Me: $184.02
Total Cost of Subscription: $126.00
Average Value per Box: $36.62
Average Value to Me per Box: $30.67
Cost per Box: $21 or $25
So in summary, I do think it is worth it for Citrus Lane subscription. You’re receiving items you may never have heard of, that could end up being a huge hit with your kid, they are being delivered to your door, and you’re receiving a great value for your money. Pretty awesome.
CLICK HERE TO GET $10 OFF YOUR CITRUS LANE ORDER OR SUBSCRIPTION!
1. You Are My Baby from Chronicle Books
2. City Planner Blocks from Hape
3. Citrus Hydrating Body Lotion from Weleda
4. Medi Buddy from Me4Kidz
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Happiness is Now 