Citrus Lane review (August 24-month-old boy and newborn box)

      

        My August Citrus Lane box for Owen came on Monday and I wanted to share all the great products that came inside. This box was one one of the best I have received this year. Baby brother's box also appeared at our doorstep and I will review his box at the end of the post. This month we received both a box for a 24-month-old toddler boy and a newborn baby boy. The box was Back to School themed with the hopes of helping your children "play to learn." 

       I opened Owen' s box during naptime because I was hoping to find some items to put aside for after the baby is born so Owen has some new things to play with. I was also able to squirrel away the food item so he wouldn't demand to eat it immediately. So that's why there are no photos of Owen opening his box this month. 

       Here are the details on what we received in our box for our 27-month-old son (though I aged him down to 24 months this month in hopes of getting toys he could use right away):

• Barefoot Books Bear On the Go First Puzzles ($12.99): This is a really cute set of four four-piece puzzles featuring Bear from the Bear book series from Barefoot Books. They are a little advanced for Owen at the moment, but I am sure he will master it in the next couple months and it's good for him to have a challenge. 

• Farber Castell Fun Things to Color A to Z ($7.99): I am so excited to have a coloring book for Owen. I am saving this for some after brother is born special mommy and Owen bonding time. Each page features a different drawing of something that begins with that letter of the alphabet. Which is great for Owen because he is all about the alphabet right now and what words start with what letter. 

• Ouchies Jr. Bandages ($5.00): Thankfully Owen doesn't hurt himself too often, and in those cases it's generally a bump or bruise, but having some bandages on hand for that inevitable event is great. These are so cute. Owen has no clue who Paddington Bear is, but he is a pretty cute little teddy bear and I think he will like them for that reason alone. 

• Clean Well All Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes ($5.50): I love Clean Well products. I have never bought them myself, but I have gotten them a couple times before in my Citrus Lane box. This is a new item though and I figure they will come in handy. I actually got two because one came in the baby's box as well so I might keep one in the car and one in the house. They smell really good too. 

• Annie's Cheddar Bunnies pouch ($1): Owen already loves Annie's Cheddar Bunnies so we're not discovering a new product or anything, but it will be nice to have this pouch to give him sometime when we need a snack on the go. 

• Fab Kids Free Outfit Offer ($39.95): This offer is for a free outfit from the subscription kid's clothes company. To redeem this code you have to sign up for their subscription and agree to be charged each month unless you decide to skip receiving an outfit for that month. You can also cancel if you don't want to remain a subscriber, but I have heard they don't make it easy on you to do this. I haven't decided if I will redeem this or not. I am not generally a fan of "free" offers that require you to sign up for a service, but at least this one features some cute outfits. 

         My verdict on Owen's box? It was one of my favorite boxes we've received all year. I love getting items that Owen can play with and learn from. Particularly books and puzzles. He still loves to play with the last puzzle they sent. And I was also pleased that we got a full-size body care product which hasn't happened as much recently. 

       The retail value of this box is about $72.43, though that's if you count the $39.95 FabKids code, which you wouldn't if you don't use it or if you are already a member since it's for first time customers. The value of Citrus Lane's boxes are always more compared to the price you pay for the items and this box was particularly good. Without the FabKids code, the value of the box is $32.48, which is more than $10 over what I paid for it since I subscribe for six months at a time and get these boxes monthly for $21 rather than the $25 if you pay monthly. 

         And here is what came in baby brother's newborn box:

• Barefoot Books "Cleo's Alphabet" board book ($6.99): I love getting books in my subscription boxes for the boys. I would be happy to get a book every month. We really love Barefoot Books and actually Owen totally loves this book. He knows his alphabet now and we've been working on teaching him about the different sounds that the letters make and this book features a different item that begins with the letter on each page so it goes right along with what we've been teaching him. And it's just a really cute book in general. I kind-of want to order the Cleo's Colors book to go with it and just might since a 20 percent off code was included on my box insert. 

• Rich Frog Little Stacker ($12.95): Stackers are such a common baby toy, but because this one is animal shaped and soft fabric as opposed to plastic or wood, it's completely different from all the other ones we already have. We got the lion, which is super cute, but they also have it in a frog, rabbit, monkey, and maybe one other version. The ring piece fits around the bottom piece and the top one velcros on. 

• Organic Socks from iPlay ($5.50): These little socks are so cute and soft. And you can never have too many pairs of baby socks. Older infants received the same box with the exception of getting a sippy cup holder instead of the socks. I prefer the socks. 

• CleanWell Hand Sanitizing Wipes ($5.50): We got these in Owen's box too and I'm happy to have two canisters. 

• Weleda Diaper Cream Samples and Fab Kids offer: I am a little bummed about receiving samples of this instead of a tube because I never seem to actually use samples. They just get tossed into a basket in the linen closet and hang out there forever. And the FabKids offer is kind-of weird since the smallest size they offer is size 2 so the baby couldn't wear it for a long time. Also, I don't think it would allow you to redeem two vouchers under the same name and e-mail address anyway. 

     The retail value of this box is about $30.94. I didn't count the samples because I have no idea their value or the FabKids offer because I can't redeem two of them and because the smallest size they offer is size 2 and the baby won't be that size for years. 

         If you would like to try Citrus Lane, you can use the code TAKEHALF to receive half off your first month in a month-by-month subscription (making your first month $12.50). Multi-month subscriptions are already discounted and there are currently no coupon codes for a discount on those. Though, if you sign up using a referral link, you will receive a $10 credit in your account. You can find my referral HERE if you wish to use it. I really love Citrus Lane and highly recommend it. I already can't wait for next month!