Here’s a proposition: Rather than delight your kid once or twice a year with a big, expensive present that will eventually get put aside, why not surprise them with a small, delightful package once a month? I have two kids, a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old. They are thrilled when something arrives in the mail that isn’t bills, replacement chargers from Amazon, or Garnet Hill catalogs.
Subscription boxes can be useful supplements for remote learning. Some of them are consumable, so your kid can have a treat that won’t be left to molder in a corner of a playroom until they’re 25. They’re also handy to have around the house if you can’t send your sniffly kid to school or to a big indoor birthday party. They’re also usually affordable! I tested some of the subscriptions on this list, and I bought others for my kids and their friends. These are our favorites.
Be sure to check out all of our other buying guides for kids, including the Best STEM toys, Best Kids’ Headphones, Best Tablets for Kids, and Best Tech Gifts for Kids.
Updated November 2023: We added the Lovevery parent course packs, Stitch Fix for kids, Kidpik, Eat2Explore, Curio Books, StoryCaptain, the Amazon kids book box, and Zollie, and updated links and pricing.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
