Gramma In A Box is a monthly subscription box that includes baked cookies with decorating supplies as well as two candy crafts with step-by-step instructions. This box was created by an actual Gramma and designed to give you and your loved ones a fun activity that you can complete together without all of the work.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Gramma In A Box
The Subscription Box: Gramma In A Box
The Cost: $20.00 per month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: Baked cookies and everything needed to decorate them as well as the supplies for two candy crafts with step-by-step instructions. Enough to make at least 20 finished products.
Ships to: U.S.
Gramma In a Box May 2018 Review
The box included a few business cards and three separate recipe cards for the three crafts. They were labeled in the order that you should make them so everything was planned out for you and easy to follow.
This card described the theme of this month’s cookies and candy which was Butterflies and Caterpillars and exploring the life cycle of a butterfly. On the back, it listed the contents of the box as well as a list of items that you would need from home. It also mentioned that the two sheets of included wax paper were to be used as placemats to make for easy cleanup.
Project #1: Marshmallow Caterpillars
The first included craft was a candy craft: Marshmallow Caterpillars. On the back, it listed all of the ingredients and allergen information which I thought was really helpful. The instructions were very detailed and step-by-step and I loved that there were helpful little notes in red such as “save half the chocolate for project 2!”
The first step was super easy- take the labeled bag of melting chocolate and melt it in the microwave. There were also instructions to organize the marshmallows by color so it was a fun way to get my 3-year-old using her sorting skills and keep her busy while the chocolate melted.
Next, we dipped one end of our marshmallows in the chocolate and placed them on the wax paper and continued to do so with the rest of the marshmallows making sure to press them right up next to each other so that they formed one connected shape. There were a good amount of marshmallows so we were able to make a lot of caterpillars, some of which were really long. Since we did it right on the wax paper I was able to just slide that out of the way while they set and lay out the second piece of wax paper for our second craft.
I am not a huge marshmallow fan, but we had a lot of fun making these and it was easy to incorporate some learning by creating patterns and counting our marshmallows. Since there isn’t much to these treats I didn’t feel like letting them eat one or two caterpillars was horribly unhealthy either!
Project #2: Hibernating Caterpillar (Pupa)
Our second candy project was to make a Pupa for our Hibernating Caterpillar. I loved that the three projects went in order of the life cycle of the butterfly- it was such a great way to teach my daughter! We used the rest of the melted chocolate for this.
First I dipped one end of the pretzel into the chocolate and then stuck it through the center of a marshmallow. Then once I got through the 6th one, the first one had set and was ready to go. We dipped our marshmallow ends into the chocolate, rolled them and then topped them with sprinkles.
These fit onto the same paper as the caterpillars so we set all of those aside while we decorated our cookies on the second sheet of wax paper. The marshmallow pretzels were actually really good (mostly because I loaded mine up with chocolate!). The pretzels were a little stale, but that’s just because they were packaged in the same bag as the marshmallows. I liked how simple this activity was and will probably repeat it as a playdate or holiday activity since there are a variety of ways you could do this with different types of chocolate and various candies!
Project #3: Butterfly Cookie Decorating
The last activity was the cookie decorating. They included 8 cookies - butterflies and maybe caterpillars (although my daughter called it a chicken) and some little bows. There were 3 bags of icing in purples and blue and four different types of sprinkles.
My daughter was able to easily add icing by just squeezing the piping bag which is great for me since she’s able to do it independently. She had fun adding lots of sprinkles to her cookies!
Once we made our cookies, we still had plenty of icing and a few sprinkles leftover even though my daughter was quite generous with the icing on her cookies. Once again, the projects were well planned out and proportioned. The cookies and icing tasted great as well. I discovered that I actually like them better a few days old for some reason.
In the end, we had 21 finished products: 7 marshmallow caterpillars, 6 pretzel pupas, and 8 cookies. I think this was the perfect amount for us (family of 4 plus a baby) because it wasn’t a ton of treats, but it was enough for everyone to have a treat or two each day. Plus these were ready quickly which means the kids could try them right away and didn’t have to wait for anything to cook or cool which is always a plus with two young kids!
I also really appreciated that each project came with its own individual recipe card because these are easy to keep to use again!
The best part of this whole process was that clean up was a breeze! I literally just put all of the empty containers and papers into the box that it shipped in and threw it in the recycle bin. Then I just had a little bit of wiping up to do, but there was no pile of dishes and I got to spend that time enjoying some treats with the kids.
Overall, we took about 20 minutes to complete all 3 projects. Since everything was organized and thought out, I could really concentrate on spending time with my daughter and talk about what we were doing instead of running around trying to do everything.
Verdict: Gramma In A Box feels very homemade, but is also well organized with step by step directions and includes important ingredient and allergen information. This makes it seem like someone put a lot of effort and care into the planning of the box. I loved this month’s Life Cycle of a Butterfly theme- it was perfect for spring and my daughter and I really enjoyed it.
The box costs $20 per month and while I could probably create this for less in my own kitchen, I think that the convenience is an added value for busy parents or for those who don’t enjoy baking. The real value to me is that I get to do something fun and creative with my daughter without any stress or planning on my part. It helps me relax a bit and makes the experience much more enjoyable for all, plus I don’t end up with a whole batch of cookies to eat or throw away!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. Order before the 3rd of the month to get that month’s box. From Gramma in a Box:
Boxes generally ship the first week of each month. Any orders received by the 3rd of any month will automatically receive the that month's box. The items are perishable so we recommend you do your cookie and candy projects within 5 days of receipt.
Coupon – Use code 10off to save $10 off your first box!
Check out all of our Gramma In A Box reviews and more family activity boxes in the Kids Subscription Box List!
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