Citrus Lane November 2013 Review

Citrus Lane is a great kids box that Emily always looks forward to! For $25 a month (or $21 a month if you sign up for a 6 month subscription - I actually did upgrade to this for her! They have some awesome Black Friday deals going on right now for even less which I'll mention at the end of this post!), you get 4+ items selected for your child’s age (they offer boxes up to 5 years old). You usually get a mixture of useful things (like toothpaste, sunscreen, food items, etc) and toys or books.

This month for Citrus Lane, I decided to mix things up a bit. I switched Emily's profile to a slightly older boy (~4 yrs old) since, in the past, she's been a bit unimpressed with typical girl toys that come in these boxes. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of girly things she likes - her baby doll and stroller, her kitchen (ok, that one could go either way), her princess castle, etc - but she also LOVES cars and her favorite color is blue, so when it comes to these boxes, occasionally I'll see something in the boy version, like the Hape cars that came in either Citrus Lane or Stork Stack a couple months ago, that I think Emily would have much preferred to what she got. So, I just wanted to see what she'd get in a boy box for once. Turns out, there wasn't a whole lot of variation this month for the 3-5 year old set. Oh well.

Opening the box

Info sheet

The first thing Emily saw was a Green Toys Build-A-Burger set ($8.49). Green Toys doesn't actually seem to sell this individually. It's part of the Sandwich Shop Set, which actually, she got in a previous Citrus Lane box - I think May. That annoys me a bit that she got the full set back in May and now they're breaking up the set and sending out pieces to everyone again. Seems cheap of Citrus Lane. We do love Green Toys, but seeing as how she's already got this, it's going in the trade pile. I'm sure someone will enjoy it - Emily does have fun with her set. The other 2 Green Toys options I saw for different ages were a tug boat for the youngest set and a crockpot with utensils for the middle. It would've been nice to get the crockpot. 

We have this!

Green Toys Build-A-Burger set

Next, Emily pulled out the biggest item in the box, a Bumkins Insulated Lunch Tote ($12.95). Like with Stork Stack's lunch bag, I'm again a bit disappointed to get a lunch bag. Emily doesn't need this. Yes, I did age her up for this month, so the older crowd might need these, but I saw that even her age group got one of these in their box this month. It is at least insulated, so I may keep it just to bring drinks on outings, but I'm not sure. I do like the crocodile print. Much cuter than the ribbons print she would've gotten if I had kept her profile as it was. But, again, I wish we had gotten something that came in one of the younger boxes - Bumkins reusable snack bags. We take snacks everywhere! We usually use snack cup containers, but the snack bags would be great to have around too.

I think she liked the crocs too

Bumkins Insulated Lunch Tote

The next 2 items Emily got this month went together: a Faber-Castell Doodle Pad ($2.49) and a set of 12 Beeswax Crayons ($4.99). Emily wanted to draw right away! This seems to be the winner of the box for sure! The crayons are triangular so they don't roll away and they're nice and soft and pigmented to draw with. The pad is a pad of paper. Nothing terribly special, but the pages are multi-colored and made from 50% recycled material. I really like this set and so did Emily!

Faber-Castell Doodling Pad and Beeswax Crayons

Drawing a face. I love her little faces!

The last thing Emily pulled out was a mini bag (.53 oz vs. .7 oz snack size and 2.3 oz full size - why make a slightly smaller bag than their regular snack size? Just include the regular one!) of Good Boy Organics Organicasaurus Baked Organic Corn Snacks in the flavor cheddar cheese ($1.36 based on Amazon prices). Emily got a bit excited when she saw this because she thought they were dinosaur Cheetos, but alas, they are not the same. I'm sure these are healthier because they're organic, but they had an odd sweet taste that just didn't taste like cheese. She tried one and then handed the bag back and said "No thank you.".

Oooh, Cheetos? Sorry, kiddo.

Organicasaurus Cheese Snacks

No thanks.

Finally, there was a "bonus" coupon - 4 free sets of address labels and free shipping from Tiny Prints, but ONLY if you spend $99. Nope. Not a bonus. Maybe if I had already planned to get a buttload of Christmas cards from them it would be a nice little extra, but we already got our Christmas cards at The Picture People (for way less than $99!), so this won't be used. If you'd like the code, go ahead and let me know and I'll send it to you (it's unique, so I only have one).

November 2013 Citrus Lane

Really the only thing I'm thrilled with this month was the crayons and paper. Had Citrus Lane not already sent us the full Green Toys sandwich set, I would've loved the Build-A-Burger as well because it is a fun toy, but I'm annoyed they split up the set and sent them again. Everything else was meh. The overall value this month was $30.28, which isn't bad, but the lunch bag was the biggest value this month, which is kind of a bummer. Oh well. Not every month can be great.

So, Black Friday deals! These actually run through Dec. 5, which is nice. So, if you head to their site (and I believe you and I both still get $10 credits if you use that link! That's how it normally works anyway.), you'll see the deals:

• monthly is unchanged at $25/month
• 3 months is $18.67/month (save $19!)
• 6 months is $17.50/month (save $45!)
• 12 months is $16.33/month (save $104!!)

Typically, the 6 month price only goes down to $21/month (that's the only monthly plan I had written down, I'm not sure of the typical prices for the 3 month plan or 12 month plan, but I know they're higher than what they are now. If you wanted to sign up or even renew for a longer plan (this is available to existing customers too - that hardly ever happens with their special discounts!), now is the time!

(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 have included referral links.)

Citrus Lane October 2013 Review

Emily's Citrus Lane actually arrived about a week early this month! Emily was excited as usual to see her box! For $25 a month (or $21 a month if you sign up for a 6 month subscription – I’m considering this, especially if they have a black Friday deal!), you get 4+ items selected for your child’s age (they offer boxes up to 5 years old). You usually get a mixture of useful things (like toothpaste, sunscreen, food items, etc) and toys or books.

Opening the box!

First peek

Info card

 I had seen spoilers before getting this box and I knew Emily would love the first item:

Ooooh!

What's this??

Oh boy!!

That's a Cloud B. Twinkles To Go Octo light ($20.95). Emily got the pink one, but they also sent out a blue version for boys. I don't think she would've minded either. Blue's her favorite color. She doesn't know it came in blue, though, so she's really happy with the one she got. She's had the classic Twilight Turtle since she was born and loves it. His name is Geoff (pronounced Gee-off) and she turns on his lights every night. She knew right away this was the same kind of thing. It's similar in that it uses lights to project stuff on the ceiling, and it does have some stars (starfish), but also fish and bubbles. Also, while her turtle does green, blue, and yellow lights (one at a time), the Octo does red and blue light (one at a time). I love that this one is smaller - I think we'll be able to take this on trips! It's already joined the zoo that sleeps with her at night and she's named it Sully (she's recently discovered Monsters Inc). Huge hit!

Cloud B Twinkles to Go Octo

Next up was a set of Hohner Rhythm Sticks ($4). We actually have quite a few Hohner music toys already, but didn't have these. I like Hohner because they seem to be good quality. Back when I was looking into xylophones, Hohner was one of the few that people reviewed as being accurately tuned. Emily seems to like these rhythm sticks ok. I think she prefers maracas, drums, and xylophones because they have a little more effect, but she was happy to bang and rub these together (one has ribs on it to make rub sounds). And then drum them on her new light (which was sturdy enough to take it).

Hohner Rhythm Sticks

I don't remember whether she was hitting them together or drumming them here.

For our food sample of the month, we got a small .8 oz bag of Good Boy Organics Bops chips in the sea salt flavor (~$1.10 based on the Amazon price for a 12 pack of 3 oz bags). I kind of wish they sent one of the other flavors because I got these exact chips in one of my Conscious Boxes and I thought they tasted a little funny. Organic is great, unless you won't eat it because it tastes funny. Emily agreed.

Bops Sea Salt Organic Chips

No!

Finally, we got an issue of Ladybug magazine ($3.77 based on the full yearly price) along with a coupon for a free 3-month digital subscription or a discounted ($19.95 down from $33.95) 1 year print subscription. Different ages got different levels of this magazine - they have Babybug for 6 months - 3 years, Ladybug for 3-6, and a couple higher age magazines that probably weren't sent out since Citrus Lane only goes up to age 5. I think this is really cute - it's filled with stories, poems, and a couple little activities. I've been thinking of maybe looking into Highlight's younger High-Five magazine (for 2-6), which is similarly priced (I know I've gotten offers in the mail - I can't remember if they were discounted or not. I'll have to wait for the next one to see), but I hadn't heard of Ladybug and it seems similar, so with this deal, I may very well try this one out. I did just notice that Ladybug only comes 9 times a year, while High-Five comes every month, but $19.95 for 9 issues is still a slightly better deal than High-Five's $34.44 for 12 issues. Either way, it's great to get a sample copy of a magazine like this to see if Emily likes it at all before I order anything.

Ladybug Magazine and coupon

October 2013 Citrus Lane

I'm really happy with this month's Citrus Lane. Emily LOVES the light up octopus and musical instruments and stories are always great to have.  The chips were a dud, but I don't really expect much from food in these boxes. We rarely like it. I kind of wish they wouldn't send food. Oh well. The overall value of this box is $29.82 (not including the value of the magazine coupon, which may or may not require a purchase depending on which option you go for), which is somewhat low, but still more than what I paid for the box and I'd say the contents were worth it.


What did your kids get in their boxes? If you’d like to sign up, here’s my personal invite link – if you sign up using that link, it will give you $10 off your order as well as giving me a $10 credit (and I’d be oh, so grateful!!)!

Emily modeling one of the little cut out mustaches on the box

(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 have included referral links.)

Citrus Lane September 2013 Review

Sorry for disappearing for a while there. We actually just got back from a family vacation to Disney World. My parents live very close in the area (we all LOVE Disney World), so we go a few times a year. It was a great trip and I think Emily got so much out of it this time! She's always seemed to have fun, and she started recognizing the characters on her 2nd birthday trip, but this time, she just had a ball. We must've ridden the carousel 25 times and Dumbo like 15. She sang along with It's a Small World, much to my husband's chagrin - he loves Disney as much as we do, but not that ride! And she got to meet her hero, Mater! It was so much fun watching her just have complete joy on certain rides and meeting certain characters! I may do a little post or 2 on our trip. We'll see. Anyway, back to the reviews.

So, just before our trip, Citrus Lane arrived. I had seen a few spoilers and was expecting most of what she got, but there was one major difference and disappointment. 

Emily opening her box

First peek

So, I had been expecting a little set of 2 mini Hape racing cars, but instead, I guess because I set the subscription to girl, Emily got that little doll on top in the picture above. It's a North American Bear Company Dorothy Doll ($12.00). It's cute but it's fairly cheap feeling and my daughter just isn't into dolls. She loves stuffed animals, but she looked at this doll, smiled, and then tossed it aside. She hasn't played with it once since. I know she would have loved the cars. She has a huge collection of Disney Cars and plays with them ALL THE TIME (I did say above that Mater's her hero!), so any new cars of any sort are pretty much a guaranteed hit. Oh well. (Santa may just bring a couple of them anyway for Christmas. Or one of the bigger ones.).

North American Bear Company Dorothy doll

Next up was Alexander Girard Color by Alexander Girard ($12.20). Emily loves books, so she was pretty happy to see this. I like the pictures in it, but the words bother me a bit. There are just so many semi-colons. Maybe that's how all picture books are and I just never noticed the weird punctuation? Anyway, I know there was a little bit of a stink about one of the pictures depicting a very artsy illustration of a mom and baby where the mom had bare boobs (basically just circles with dots), but Emily didn't really notice or care and I don't really care. The book is ok, but not one of our favorites. I think Emily likes a bit more of a story.

Alexander Girard Color

That was pretty much it for fun items for Emily - the rest were taken out and not payed much attention to. She got a bar of Happy Tot Super Toddler Bars in Honey Grain Sunbutter (~$0.84 based on the price of a box). She tried it and said it was ok, but didn't want more than a bite, so I ended up finishing it. It wasn't bad. Very sweet. Emily's just pretty picky about snacks, so I kind of wish we didn't get food in her boxes.

Happy Tot Super Toddler Bar and coupons

The last kid product was a sample size (3.4 oz vs the full 8 oz) of Episencial Peaceful Bubbles bubble bath and shampoo (~$3.83). I wasn't impressed with any of the other Episencial products we've received, but I'm hopeful for this one. We mainly use California Baby bubble baths, but we'll try this one out. We haven't yet, so I'm not sure if this one will be mostly air like the sunscreen was. Hopefully not.

Episencial Peaceful Bubbles

Finally, the mom gift was a bottle of Julep polish along with a coupon. Amazingly enough, I didn't already have the color I got - Gabrielle. I do have quite a few purples, but this was different enough - a darkish smoky purple. When I first saw the coupon, FIRST20 (I'm sure that's a generic code, so feel free to use it, too, if you want, up to the end of the month), I thought for sure it would be a new customer only code, so I was pretty bummed, but it turns out it's not! I haven't used it yet, but I probably will before the end of the month. Sadly, I didn't even think to try it for my mystery box (and yes, I know I said I was done with mystery boxes, but they're just so darn tempting! I'll have another couple reviews for Julep coming up, including last month's mystery box).

Julep polish in Gabrielle and a coupon for 20% off

Swatch of Gabrielle. I just realized I forgot to swatch this one on a nail, I'm sorry.

September 2013 Citrus Lane

I'm not really sure how I feel about this box. The doll was a huge disappointment. The book is fine and I'm sure the bubble bath is fine. The polish is nice, but easily could have been a dupe if they'd chosen almost any other color (I think the other variation I saw was Coco, one I do have). It's just that nothing wowed me or Emily in this box. But last month was great and Emily does get excited to see something for her in the mail, so we'll keep it. Hopefully next month will be better.

What did your kids get in their boxes? If you’d like to sign up, here’s my personal invite link – if you sign up using that link, it will give you $10 off your order as well as giving me a $10 credit (and I’d be oh, so grateful!!)!

(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 have included referral links.)

Citrus Lane August 2013 Review

Here I am, getting behind again! Whoops! Well, I have a bit more time now, since Emily just started school today. Excuse me while I sob while writing this. My baby!

Anyway, near the end of the month, Citrus Lane arrived! Emily was excited as usual to see her box! For $25 a month (or $21 a month if you sign up for a 6 month subscription – I’m considering this), you get 4+ items selected for your child’s age (they offer boxes up to 5 years old). You usually get a mixture of useful things (like toothpaste, sunscreen, food items, etc) and toys or books.

Digging right in!

Opening the box

Info card

The first thing I saw was a card for a free outfit from FabKids. I'm torn on this. It is a free outfit, but I hear FabKids is really hard to discontinue (it's another sub) - as in, they keep charging you even after you've cancelled. And I really don't want to pay $40 a month for one outfit. The outfits just aren't cute enough. I did find one that I might buy, but I'd need to get a prepaid card with like $5 on it to set up the account so it doesn't matter if I cancel and they keep trying to charge it. It does expire soon though, so I'll need to do that quickly. I believe I still need to pay shipping, so I don't think I'll add this into the box's value.

FabKids free outfit offer

The first real item was a snack bag of Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (~$0.50). We actually have a box of these in our pantry, so these aren't new to us, but we like them! They taste just like Goldfish. Emily wanted to open them right up and have some.

Annie's Cheddar Bunnies and a little cut out rabbit. I kind of would have preferred a coupon.

"Mmmm!"

Next up was a tin of Ouchies Jr. Eric Carle bandaids ($5). The site doesn't seem to have the variety we got, but they're cute! Emily loves them. Any tiny boo-boo, and she needs one on there (sometimes she calls them bandaids, but sometimes they're "headbands", haha). I've never tried this brand, since we usually just pick up whatever Target has, which is Band-Aid, I think, in the various Disney prints. They work comparably though.

Ouchies Jr. Eric Carle bandaids

The next practical item was a full size tub of Clean Well All Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes ($5.50). At first, I was happy to see these because we go through wet wipes like nobody's business, but I opened the tub up and, whew!! Man, they smell awful. It's supposed to be Orange Vanilla, so I expected something like the Honest Co. scent I love, but nope. Just bad. I don't know if I can use these. They smell that bad.

Clean Well All-Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes

Finally on to the fun stuff! The first of 2 toys was a box set of 4 mini puzzles by Barefoot Books ($12.99). This has been a HUGE hit! Emily wants to play with these every day. And they're only 4 pieces per puzzle so they're nice and easy for her as she learns how to do jigsaw puzzles. We got another 12-piece puzzle a few months ago, I think from Citrus Lane, that she initially struggled with, but after playing with these for a few days, she was doing much better with the 12 piece puzzle. For now, I'm still mostly having to separate the 4 puzzles from each other for her to build, but she's working on looking at the pictures to see which ones probably are part of the same puzzle.

 

Barefoot Books 4 mini puzzle set

"Ooooh!"

I had to include a series of pictures of her putting together the puzzles (although the last one is from a different puzzle than the first few, I just noticed). She was so cute! So proud after each piece fit together! And then hopping up and down saying "I did it!" after the puzzle was finished.

The last item was a Creativity for Kids Coloring ARTivity Book ($7.99). Emily also wanted to try this right away. We don't usually play much with markers (other than the dry erase ones in our kitchen) since she's still not terribly careful with them, but they are washable, so we opened it right up. She loves coloring, so this was a hit, too.

"What's this?"

Creativity for Kids Coloring ARTivity book

Blue is always her first color choice

August 2013 Citrus Lane box

Apart from the yucky smelling wipes, this box was another hit. It had an approximate value of $31.98, which isn't huge, but it's more than what I paid and Emily loves most of it, so I'm happy. I'll be interested to see what comes in Stork Stack this month now that I've canceled that, but again, since Stork Stack ends at age 3, I think I made the right choice in which one to keep.

What did your kids get in their boxes? If you’d like to sign up, here’s my personal invite link – if you sign up using that link, it will give you $10 off your order as well as giving me a $10 credit (and I’d be oh, so grateful!!)!

(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 have included referral links.)