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KiwiCo Shop Series: Santa’s Light-Up Workshop

Brandi D.
ByBrandi D.Dec 18, 2021 | 2 comments

You probably know by now that KiwiCo has a subscription line for just about every age, but did you know they also offer fun one-time boxes in their shop? They have interactive toys, educational kits that are similar to their monthly boxes, and even some fun holiday-themed boxes. As a mom, I am always intrigued by these boxes, but before I buy, I like to know exactly what I'm getting. This series will provide you with a review of some of these unique one-time boxes and hopefully help you make an informed decision about your own purchases. If there's a box you'd like to see reviewed from their shop, drop a line in the comments and we'll see what we can do!

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This is a review of KiwiCo's Santa's Light-Up Workshop (recommended for ages 9+) for $24.95.

First Impression

 

I knew I had to try one of their holiday boxes with it being December. I actually ordered this in November, but for some reason, it didn't ship right away. A quick chat with customer service and it was at my door a few days later! I was excited to see that it arrived even sooner than expected. It arrived inside of a shipping sleeve, so if this were a gift, it would have been well disguised. As for the box itself, it had a photo of the finished project and a list of the contents that we would find inside. Of course, my daughter was eager to make her own workshop after seeing the vibrant example on the box!

What's Inside the Santa's Light-Up Workshop Box?

Everything was packaged up neatly inside.

 

Our instructions came on a single paper that opened up to give detailed step-by-step directions with some helpful illustrations.

 

We received a battery pack with a battery, an LED light strip, sturdy wooden pieces for the frame of the house and a nice foam base for our house to sit on along with some paper cut-outs for our windows and door. Then there were some smaller pieces such as cord, pipe cleaners, beads, stickers, foam adhesives, cotton balls, and both a glue stick and a small bottle of white glue. We really did have everything we needed!

Building Santa's Workshop

 

The first step was to decorate the outside of the house if you wanted. My daughter did opt to color hers in. Then she glued the pieces of paper to the inside of the windows and door before adding the wooden pieces to the foam display.

 

Before she could place the final panel of the house on, she had to add the LED strip by sticking it to the floor inside her house. Then she added the battery pack to the back panel with the adhesive foam strips and wired it to the lights. The house was very simple to hold together since there were notches cut out so everything slid right into place.

 

She tested out the lights and was amazed at what she saw! The switch on the battery pack is accessible through a tiny cut-out on the back of the house so we can turn it off and on easily at any time. It would have been cool if we could have attached a little timed light to it! That may be a fun way to upgrade this little decoration in the future!

 

Next came the tedious task of adding beads to the roof. We used the clear stickers they provided to add a piece of cord to the notches in the roof, then she added the beads and I helped her secure the other side of the cord so that it was nice and snug. All of the beads fit into the little holes in the roof.

 

When the roof panels were beaded she placed the roof onto the house using more foam adhesive. Then she had to make one more row of beads for the top of the roof.

The final step was to add some creative details! The cotton balls they provided became a snowman, they also included some signs that read "Santa's Workshop" and "North Pole". She read the instructions on how to make a wreath out of a pipe cleaner using a pencil and so she got to work on that, too. I really loved how inspired she was by this part and I was so impressed with her final project!

The Final Product

She did need a little help adding the scarf and hat to the snowman, but otherwise, this was all her design!

 

Here you can see the display all lit up. The windows and the beads tend to glow with the way the light shines through them and it looks like such a magical little workshop!

Value - Was This Box Worth It?

The Cost: $24.95 + free shipping

My daughter had a lot of fun with this box and she loves that she got to put her own finishing touches on it! We both think it's so neat that it lights up, and as long as we package it with care, this can easily be a Christmas decoration that we take out and display each year. I think the great experience she had building this and the fact that we have a beautiful keepsake from it makes this box worth it!

Key Takeaways

While this box is geared toward ages 9+, my 7-year-old was able to complete this kit with very minimal help from me so I think it could easily be modified for different ages depending on the level of assistance you're able to provide! The box was neatly organized with everything we needed inside, and while there was one main build to produce, there was still plenty of room for creativity, too!

To Wrap Up: 

Is this box still available? Yes, but holiday boxes like this one do tend to sell out!

Have you tried any of the boxes from the KiwiCo shop? Let us know in the comments below!

Brandi D.
Brandi D.

I am a homeschooling mom to 4 kids; 1 girl and 3 boys. While I have been reviewing boxes since 2018 and I love the luxury of trying new products, I'm also balancing it out by dabbling in a little bit of homesteading, too. We now have 4 chickens and a rabbit and my sourdough starter is going strong! I love learning about new brands and sharing the great things I find with others in hopes that they find something new to love or to fit their needs!


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2 comments

Starla McCarty

That turned out awesome! I love it! You could even add a bead for the door handle. 🙂

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Brandi D.

Oh great idea, Starla! She’s going to love that! I’ll pass it along to her! 🙂

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