Panda Crate is a bi-monthly subscription from KiwiCo for ages 0-36 months. You will receive one crate every 2 months which comes out to $20.95 per month or $41.90 per crate with free shipping. Boxes are curated based on the science of early development with materials that are practical, helpful, and convenient for parents. In fact, they actually consulted researchers at Seattle Children's hospital to make sure everything is well suited for each stage of your child's brain development.
This review is of KiwiCo's Panda Crate (for ages 0-36 months), which costs $41.90 per month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
First Impressions
Our theme for this box is "Sense with Me" and it contains items to help your baby learn more about the world around them through their senses. I was eager to see how my 4-month-old responded to some of these items!
What's Inside This Box
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This Wonder magazine was divided into four categories; grow, learn, play, and connect. This edition talks all about teething and the senses.
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These four "Beyond the Crate" cards provided a few activities we could do and listed the ages at which it would be appropriate to do them.
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The next set of cards gave detailed information about each of the items we received in our box. Let's check them out!
Crinkle Tag Toy
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It never ceases to amaze me how much babies love those little tags! This panda toy is not only cute, but it features several different colored tags all around for baby to touch and play with. It is also filled with crinkle paper so that baby's sense of hearing is engaged as well. I love how thin and large this toy is making it such an easy one to throw in the diaper bag, but also easy for babies to hold onto. The silicone ring at the top also makes it a great one for a teething baby, too, or you can add some links to it so you can hook it to your stroller or infant chairs.
Poppy's Colorful World
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This book is made from material that makes it safe to take it into the bath. While it looks very simple at first, all of those colors become bright and vibrant when they get wet making it a fun visual toy. Owen actually really loves looking at books already so I may just try this in the bath next time since he is getting to that age where he's getting squirmy!
Knot Ball
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This ball is made of soft cotton and it's such a unique toy that I never would have considered purchasing on my own. I love that these little rolls of fabric create all of this space in between for little fingers to explore and since it is soft, it's a good one for rolling back and forth, plus it has a bell inside that makes a fun sound to stimulate those auditory senses! You can see it is really large, but it's very lightweight.
Soft Rattle Blocks
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Since this is my fourth child, we have several different fabric blocks already, but I have to admit that I really love the aesthetic of these with the soft canvas in muted colors! While they are still bright enough with contrasting colors for baby, they don't seem as busy as the other ones we have, which I like. Two of the blocks feature crinkle paper inside and two have little bells, so you get two different sounds from them as well. They are perfect for stacking and working on hand-eye coordination.
Transfer Discs
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This solid beechwood toy (with non-toxic water-based ink) is the one I was a bit unsure about - I knew that it would definitely be a toy that went straight into the mouth, but I had to refer to the Panda Crate cards to figure out why this would be so great. They highlighted the fact that it is great for transferring between hands to build up finger and wrist muscles, but I really liked the fact that it rolls if you give it a gentle push.
Here you can see it in action. This will definitely encourage some movement once he's ready!
Teething Ring
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I have saved the best for last! My son LOVES this little silicone teething ring! I think it is so cute with all of the different shapes and colors, but it is so easy for him to grasp and he seems to love to chew on all of the pieces! There is a solid ring for him to chew on or all of those little shapes are on a string so he can get one or two in his mouth at a time for different sensations.
I don't know if he is actually teething now, but he sure loves to chomp on this thing! It's become the new "favorite" toy that we make sure we have with us whenever we leave the house because it occupies him so well.
Value - Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $41.90
This month we received 6 different toys along with some helpful guides and parenting advice. That comes out to about $6.98 per toy, which I actually think is pretty fair considering similar items may retail for about the same or even more. While some of these toys may seem pretty familiar, or like something you can get anywhere, I think there is a lot of added value with all of the research and parenting advice that Panda Crate includes! I am also loving the aesthetic of these toys and how all of our toys are starting to match!
Key Takeaways
This is our third box from Panda Crate and I am loving the high-quality materials and the focus on developmentally-appropriate toys. Each box has contained at least one item that we would consider a must-have toy for our youngest!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, this is one of the boxes they send during the 0-36 month age window. Panda Crate is more of a "line" of boxes from KiwiCo than a typical subscription model with different themes each month. When you sign up, you input your baby's age or your due date and they'll send you the appropriate box for your child's age and development at the right time. (Good to know: you can pick what month you want your first box to arrive. By default, it will arrive the month of your due date.)
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