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 "Explore with Me" and it contains items to help your baby focus on spatial awareness. I knew a lot of these items would be great for my 6-month-old!
What's Inside This Box
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This Wonder magazine was divided into four categories; grow, learn, play, and connect. They used the phrase "eager explorer" and that definitely describes my son at the moment, so I thought it was very relatable!
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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!
Tissue Box and Fabric Tissues
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This is the toy I have so been looking forward to! With Owen being my fourth child, I am well aware of the appeal that a box of tissues has as I have cleaned many a box up in my time as a mother! I have seen similar toys like this and even tried to recreate my own version, but this is so much cuter and very well made. The soft panda tissue box is weighted with beads at the bottom so that while the whole thing is soft enough to be safe, it still stands up and doesn't fall over. There is an opening at the top where you can load up your new fabric tissues which are designed in a way so that you can fold them together and they'll continue to pop up when you take one out. So clever and just plain cute! I also love all of the different designs on the tissues and the 100% cotton fabric is light and breathable, and apparently according to Owen, very tasty!
Poppy's Day Out Board Book
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I love that each box has contained a different type of book! Our first was a soft fabric book, our second was a bath book and now we have this beautiful little board book featuring Poppy the Panda. I just love the gorgeous colors and illustrations and this story really dove into using prepositional words which is going to be great for doing demonstrations when he is older!
Coin Puzzle Box
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I was a bit skeptical of this toy at first, but then I realized the genius of this simple design! There are multiple patterns and colors around the edges and then at the top, there is a slit that the coins fit in which is perfect for older babies working on hand-eye coordination! For a younger baby like mine, there is the larger round hole where babies can grab the coins out of it or place them inside of it. The whole box is very lightweight so my son can pick it up easily, but the quality means I don't have to worry about him getting a little wild with it as he plays. He seemed to really be interested in this one and went to play with it multiple times. I did put some other toys inside as well for him to grab out and he enjoyed that, too!
Bead Maze
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I love this little toy! It is always a hit with kids and usually the only place you find them is in a public place where it's the last thing you actually want your child touching. This one is smaller, but still fun with 6 different beads in varying shapes and colors. This also has suction cups on the bottom, making it a great high chair toy, too! It's light enough that he can pick the whole thing up, but the suction cups make it sturdy enough for a tabletop. The quality is great and my son seemed to really like it!
My older son was glad to show him how it worked! This really was his favorite toy so far, although the coin box puzzle was a very close second!
Value - Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $41.90
This month we received 4 different toys along with some helpful guides and parenting advice. That comes out to about $10.48 per toy which may sound like a lot, but I think the quality of the toys is really great and I could truly see the developmental value in them as my son explored each one. While they are fantastic right now for him as a 6-month-old, these are definitely toys that will grow with him and that appeal to older ages, too! I also just love neutral the design of these toys and how cute our collection is getting as it grows with each new delivery.
Key Takeaways
This month's box was a great lesson in exploration focusing on object permanence and a lot of hand-eye coordination, too. I really loved the toys this month and my son definitely did, too!
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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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