An Unpaid Review of Kiwi Crate (plus a promo code for your first box!)

Wondering about Kiwi Crate? Here’s everything you need to know about subscribing, which boxes are best for which ages, if you need more than one if you multiple children and even how to cancel! Use the code READING if you’re getting a subscription and it’ll give you 30% off!

This post – like every post on my site – contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase, I may receive a small referral fee. This doesn’t change the price you pay and helps offset the cost of running Everyday Reading.

About six months ago, we started subscribing to Kiwi Crate.

I knew the moment I heard about this children’s subscription that my girls would be obsessed. And even then, I underestimated HOW obsessed they’d be.

Like. . . wake-up-and-immediately-ask-if-they-can-work-on-them obsessed.

I usually hide them in my closet until I’m ready to bring them out or they beg to open them NON-STOP.

And I can’t blame them. I feel myself getting excited when we open them and start working on the projects. They’re just so well-done.

I wish I’d recorded my children the first month they came – Ella kept saying things like, “Can you even BELIEVE someone invented these boxes?” and “This is the best day of my life.”

Kiwi Crate saved my life during the winter when the girls were mainly stuck inside after school and now that spring is here, I pull them out on days when Tally takes an extra long nap or they’re complaining about being bored.

I also think Kiwi Crates are the BEST gift to ask for when grandparents request birthday or holiday gift suggestions and you really don’t want some giant, plastic toy that you’ll never be able to get rid of.

I’ve worked with Kiwi Crate on sponsored Instagram Stories, but there’s so much more that I wanted to share about this subscription box that I felt like it deserved a whole post of its own.

Why I love Kiwi Crate

My girls are obsessed with crafts and projects. Give them some fabric and scissors and a needle and they’ll spend the afternoon making tiny purses or doll dresses.

They’d happily do projects every afternoon.

But I am a lousy craft mom. I never have the supplies on hand and spending forever searching through Pinterest to find craft projects and then go buy the supplies? No thanks.

Kiwi Crate solves that problem perfectly for me. They come up with the projects (and test them on real kids to make sure they’re realistic for those age groups) and then put together all the supplies you need along with really great instructions.

They show up on my doorstep and my girls are THRILLED.

And I’m thrilled that I don’t have to do any research or shopping.

Plus, the projects are designed to teach STEM skills and especially after leaving behind our STEM school in Arizona, I was particularly enthusiastic about this part of it.

And I love the problem solving skills the Kiwi Crates teach – it’s really fun to watch my six-year-old puzzle over the directions, find the right parts, try out something and then adjust if it’s not right, and eventually have a complete, working project at the end.

What do you do with THe kiwi crate PROJECTS afterward?

Whenever I post about Kiwi Crate on Instagram, the most common question is, “What do you DO with all the stuff? Do you keep the projects? How do you store them?”

The answer? I don’t!

The girls knew from the outset that the point of having a Kiwi Crate subscription was to do fun projects. It was NOT to gather a bunch of projects.

I give them 3-4 days to do the projects and play with their creations and then we recycle or throw away the projects.

If there are any supplies left over (googly eyes, paint, etc), I keep those in one Kiwi Crate box for future projects, but other than that, these are not permanent additions to our home.

The girls knew that having a subscription was dependent on them being willing to part with the projects when they were finished, so there hasn’t been any fuss about this.

Which Kiwi Crate should I choose for my child?

Kiwi Crate offers seven different options and we’ve tried five of those seven lines.

The options are:

• Tadpole Crate. This one is designed for babies 0 – 36 months and it’s all play based. It usually has 1-2 toys, a board book and then a magazine with all sorts of ideas for how to use them to interact with your child, help them develop and practice new skills. The little wooden disc toy in the photo above was in the last Tadpole Crate we got. I was more likely to keep the items from the Tadpole Crate because they were actual toys, rather than projects. The Tadpole Crate is really well done and I loved it until Tally was just about to turn 2 and then she was frantic that she didn’t get to do more project-based crates like her older sisters, so I upgraded her to the Koala Crate.
• Koala Crate. This crate is designed for 3-4 years olds and I currently get one for Tally (who is just over 2) and Star (who is just over 4). They both LOVE the Koala Crate which is focused on play and learning. It usually has three projects and involves a lot of painting, clay, stickers and other easy-to-manipulate materials. The chef’s hat and clay cake you see Star painting in some of these photos was from a recent Koala Crate. I think it’ll be great for Star for at least another year. They usually get identical boxes each month.
• Kiwi Crate. The Kiwi Crate is for ages 5-8 and has engineering, science, and art projects. When we started, both Ani (age 6) and Ella (age 8) got this one and they both LOVED it. They always got different boxes from each other. The stomp rocket in these photos was from our January 2019 Kiwi Crate.
• Atlas Crate. The Atlas Crate is for ages 6-11 and each box focuses on a different culture or part of the world. The projects are fun (my experience is that the Atlas Crate projects lean more on the art/craft side) and you get a little passport book that you can add to each . month as you explore the world.
• Doodle Crate. The Doodle Crate is the only offering we haven’t tried. It’s for ages 9-16+ and focuses on art and design.
• Tinker Crate. Like the Doodle Crate, the Tinker Crate is for ages 9-16+ but it focuses on projects around science and engineering. I just switched Ella over to this one from the Kiwi Crate and she LOVED the first one. It’s definitely more advanced, but she loved the challenge and wanted to stick with this one.
• Eureka Crate. This one is for ages 14-104 and it’s science and engineering. Basically, like the Tinker Crate but ratcheted up for teens.

You can also switch any month, so if you start with the Koala Crate and it seems to simplistic for your child, you can bump up to the Kiwi Crate or if it’s too advanced, you can switch to the Tadpole Crate.

Do I Need a Kiwi Crate for Each Child or Can they Share?

Each of my girls get their own crates each month, but you could double up and have multiple children do one crate.

There’s usually only one of any item (one clay cake, one chef’s hat, one stomp rocket, etc) but if they’re willing to work on the project together or share the finished product, it could definitely work.

Need a Kiwi Crate Promo Code?

I hate to buy anything without a promo code if I can help it, so if you’re on the hunt for a Kiwi Crate promo code, I have you covered.

Use the Kiwi Crate promo code READING for 30% off your first box!

How do I cancel Kiwi Crate?

I’ve heard rumors that it used to be really challenging to cancel Kiwi Crate subscriptions, but now you can just log into your account, choose the “Subscriptions” option under your name in the top-right corner, then click “Edit” next to your subscription and click the “Cancel Subscription” button.

And if you have trouble for any reason, you can call the Kiwi Crate phone number: 1 (800) 714-4828.

Any other questions about Kiwi Crate? I’m happy to answer!

If you liked this Kiwi Crate review, you might like these posts too:

• My favorite children’s book subscription
• An unpaid review of Blue Apron
• The tools I’ve used to teach my children to read

 

Photos by Heather Mildenstein