Stork Stack July 2013

As I mentioned in my Citrus Lane post, I'm currently comparing Citrus Lane to Stork Stack to see which one Emily and I would like to keep. I figure I'll give it a few months before I decide.

Stork Stack is a subscription for kids ages 0 -3 (this may make the decision for me! Emily will be 3 in December. But I can still try to figure out if we want to keep it up till then and if it's something I'd get for a future child). For $27.99, you get 4 age-appropriate items for your child and one item for mom or dad. It's nice that they add in an item for parents, but I have my own subscriptions, so I'd kind of rather they make it 5 things for kids. July's theme was "Ready, Set, Summer". Emily saw her box and wanted to open it right up!

Opening the box

The first item on top, which was unceremoniously tossed by the child, was a Baby Banz UPF 50 Bucket hat. The website suggests it's reversible (and worth $19), but I'm not really sure ours is. It kinds just looks inside out if I flip it. Maybe these are an older model? I can't find this color on the site either. I actually thought it was a boy version of the hat at first (you tell Stork Stack whether you have a boy or girl in the event of anything gender specific), but according to Stork Stack this is gender neutral. I don't really like it and Emily didn't want it on her head, but it could have just been her mood at the time. I'll try it next time she's in the pool. It's adjustable though, so at least the 2-5 size can be made to fit her head. Funny enough, Citrus Lane did a hat in their last box too, so I'm able to compare these items. So far, CL has the lead in terms of looks. We'll see how it does when worn.

Baby Banz UPF 50 bucket hat

The next item Emily picked out was the Melissa and Doug Happy Giddy Kids' Binoculars. Valued at $6.99, Emily got a kick out of these. After I taught her where to look through, she looked at her bunny (her favorite toy that she sleeps with every night) sitting on the coffee table and then gave me a big grin. A few days later, she still picks these up and says "Let me show you something." to everyone, including the cat. I'd say it's a hit, at least for now. It's not a super strong magnifier (4X), but it's fun for her.

Melissa and Doug Happy Giddy Binoculars

Looking at Bunny

Next up was a box of Bitsy's Brainfood cookies in Lemon Broccoli. I have to admit, when I saw this, my nose crinkled a bit and I was nervous that these would be awful. Lemon broccoli cookies?? But I tried one and they're really yummy! And then Emily tried one and liked it too! She can be super picky, so if she likes it, hooray!! She also loved that they're alphabet shaped - she was picking them out, naming the letter, and popping them in her mouth. And at $2.39 a box, I might just pick up the whole set of varieties (they also make Zucchini Carrot Gingerbread, Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Orange Beet)! It's great that they've got a good amount of vitamins and Omega-3, too. Gotta get those vitamins in somewhere, especially with a pickier eater.

Bitsy's Brainfood Lemon Broccoli cookies

"H!"

She likes them!

Finally, at the bottom of the box was a game by Child's Play called My Grandmother Went to Market. This is valued at $14.99. We both initially thought this would be a matching game (in spite of the "fun with memory!" written on the front, whoops), but I quickly realized there was only one of each picture. It's been a bit hard to convince Emily that there isn't a match to look for since she's much more familiar with that game, but we've played a few times (with only a small handful of the cards since this game is technically 3+ and there are dozens of cards included) and she seems to be catching on. She does get really excited when she finds what I ask her to find and sometimes goes on a roll remembering the locations of several items in a row, which surprised me at first. It's great! She seems to like the game and has brought it to me asking to play a few times since we opened it, so I'm happy to play with her. It'll also grow with her, beyond just adding more cards to make it harder. The words are written on the back of each card, so it will help with reading, too!

We've gotten up to about 12 cards at a time so far.

My real final item, the one for me, was supposed to be a couple samples of Super Goop sunscreen, but alas, I didn't get any. :( On the upside, I wrote to them and asked if I should have gotten some and they said they'll send some out to me, so that was an easy fix! A little bummed at the sample size I saw in other reviews, a few foil packets - not exactly the priciest mom treat - but I guess at least I can stick them in my purse.

Overall, this box was pretty good. A few high points (the 2 toys and snack for Emily) and a few low (the hat color and the missing mom treat). It's hard to tell how long the binoculars will keep Emily's attention, but I think the game will probably be useful and fun for a while. And it's always great to be introduced to a new snack to put into the rotation. The overall value of the July box was $43.37, which is over the price of the box, so that's a plus! If you'd like to sign up, please use my referral code: C641FAA7 at the Stork Stack website. We'll both earn $10 Stork bills, which can be applied to the next month's box! If you already get Stork Stack, what did you get? I'd love to hear what different age groups got!

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I included a referral code, but no referral link.)