Citrus Lane Subscription Box Review

This is not a sponsored post, I just like reading reviews of subscription box experiences, so I thought I'd share mine.

Background, Citrus Lane is one of the many subscription services for baby, child, and family products - toys, books, food items, and accessories - currently popping up all over the internet. You sign up for your preferred subscription period (monthly, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months - all auto-renewing until you cancel) fill in your child's name, age, and whether you prefer girl/boy/gender neutral items, and once a month a box of surprise items tailored to your child's age and gender is mailed to you. You can also buy gift subscriptions for friends and family. You can see some of the past boxes on their website, but I recommend Googling for reviews, because they give you a broader picture of what you might expect. I loved that I saw a lot of brands I know and trust - Melissa and Doug, Skip Hop, Plum Organics, etc.

I had a promo code and spent a good deal of time reading others' reviews online before deciding to go for it and give the service a try. I signed up for an 18 month gender-neutral box, hoping there might be some things to interest both of my kids included.

We received:

• 1 Melissa and Doug counting puzzle - This is one of the only M&D wooden puzzles we didn't yet own - score!
• 3 Zo-li stacking snack cups - I've been looking at different ones online for a while. I wanted a set that was large enough for picnic snacks and that hooked together for ease of carrying. I'm glad I waited to buy one, because this ticked all my boxes. And the set is BPA and phthalate free, which is important to me.
• 1 GoGo Squeez flavored applesauce pouch - My 4 year old loves these, so it went straight into my purse.
• 2 instant disposable ice packs - Meh, disposable things make me nervous. I feel like I need to save them for a "special occasion." I'll toss these in the car, but who knows if I'll ever need one.
• voucher for 10 free digital postcards - Whatever. I have no use for them, and I really don't know many people who would pay for something like this. I think this was a bonus item, though. (If you can manage to read the code on my photo above, go for it and use it. I won't be.)

Overall, pretty good. 3 things I would have eventually purchased, 1 I wouldn't purchase but will probably use, and 1 dud, but the dud wasn't one of the paid-for items, so I'm not bothered by it. I am, however, bummed we didn't get a book, as they usually include one. I'll keep the service for another few months before renewing or cancelling, because I got a really good deal on it and, you know, for the sake of science. ;)

If you'd like to sign up, you can get $10 off your first box by using my Citrus Lane referral link. Has anyone else used this service or one like it? Like I said, I'm a subscription box enthusiast, so I'd love to hear your experiences.