September Citrus Lane review (29 month old boy box)

  My September Citrus Lane box for Owen came today and I wanted to share all the great products that came inside. This box was not as great as last month's (my favorite ever!), but still a really great box. Baby brother's box hasn't appeared at our doorstep, but I will review his box whenever it does. This month we received both a box for a 29-month-old toddler boy. The box didn't have a theme, but according to the insert, "September marks the start of fall, which means you'll probably be spending more time indoors, and we kept that in mind when choosing this month's items."

       Owen saw me bring in his box while he was eating lunch and watching an episode of Clifford the Big Red Dog, but he stopped immediately and came running into the kitchen saying, "My box! My box!" as soon as he saw it. And that is saying a lot for this technology-loving kiddo. He gets about half an hour of TV a day and it's very rare for him to be distracted from it. So you know Citrus Lane is something special. 

         The box this month had a great assortment of items. I always love when we get a range of types of things like bath and skin care products, toys, books, art supplies, beauty products for me, and snacks. This month, Citrus Lane introduced three new companies (Ammo Books, Hape, and Julep) and a new snack from an old partner. It was really nice to get all new products from brands that haven't been featured before in the boxes. 

       Here are the details on what we received in our box for our 29-month-old son:

• City Planner Blocks from Hape Toys ($9.99): This is a really cute brightly colored set of a 15 blocks from Hape Toys. Owen wanted to play with these right away after unpacking them from his box. They seem really well made and fun to play with. They are crafted with sustainable wood and child-safe paint. 

• Charley Harper ABCs from AMMO Books ($9.99): Owen and I are always excited to receive books in our Citrus Lane box. Owen typically "reads" or has me or Tim read him almost every book he has on a daily basis. He is a serious bibliophile. And because it can become tedious reading the same books all the time, it's nice to have a new one to mix it up every once in a while. Because Owen is all about learning the alphabet and knows all his letters and can recognize him, he has been recently learning about the sounds of each letter and asking what words start with a letter so this book is absolutely perfect. It's a bit confusing because it's hard to tell what each picture is illustrating, for instance, the photo on the front cover is for "nest," but Owen sees birds and thinks its for B. But the art is really great and fits right in with our "Andy Warhol's Colors" "Counting with Wayne Thiebaud' books.

• Episencial Playful Wash (approximately $3.85): We already own some of this baby wash and really like it. It smells fantastic, like tangerines and lathers well. It's super gentle on delicate baby skin and rinses away really easily. I love using it on the boys and size, while not the full-size sold on the website, is definitely a generous sample size and will be great for travel at some point when we go visit our families for a week. It has plenty for washing both boys. 

• Julep Nail Color in Gabrielle ($14): This was the "mom gift" this month. It would also be great for moms of little girls because it's free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, and DBP and is safe for use on children. I am already a Julep Maven subscriber so it's not that exciting for me. Especially since I have tons of their nail colors, but I was lucky enough to receive a color that I don't already own. This color is described as a "smoky mulberry creme." It's a little darker than I would normally pick, but I'm willing to give it a try.  

• Super Toddler Bar from Happy Family (84 cents): I have always loved Happy Family, but it's been a while since I've bought anything from them because I used to buy pureed fruits and vegetables for Owen and the infant snacks, but I haven't tried any of their toddler foods. This gluten free snack bar contains whole-grain brown rice, kale, sunbutter, and Salab and contains nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and calcium. I have already stashed this in the diaper bag for one of those inevitable moments where Owen gets hungry while we are out and about and I have nothing to give him. 

         My verdict on Owen's box? It was a really great box. I love getting items that Owen can play with and learn from. Particularly books, puzzles and educational toys. I also love that we got a good-sized skin care product. I haven't had to buy baby wash or lotion in more than a year thanks to Citrus Lane. 

       The retail value of this box is about $38.67. 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, at more than $15 over what I paid for it since I subscribe for six months at a time and get these boxes for $21 each rather than $25 if you pay monthly. 
       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, but right now you can sign up for a three month subscription and get a fourth box for free by clicking HERE and using the code CUTEOFF. This deal ends on October 5. 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 can't wait to get Graham's box as well!