I think we can say that 2013 was the year when subscription boxes really took off. No matter your interests–Japanese candy, geeky toys, baby goods, even clothes–there was a box out there for you. Toucan Box is a subscription box service based in the UK that offers activity boxes for kids aged three to eight. They sent my four-year-old son one of their kits to see what he thought of it.
My first impressions when the Toucan Box arrived was how big and bright it was. This was no boring kraft cardboard package being handed over, it was bold with cartoons all over the box and my son’s name printed in huge letters across the front. He was THRILLED. Our box was the “Super” size kit containing four activities and a book. Each activity comes individually packed inside the main box with all the equipment you might need* including paints, brushes, and other materials.
Toucan Boxes are all themed and our box contained music based activities. We received:
- A kit to make a tambourine
- A kit to make a pan flute
- A kit to make a rubber band guitar
- A kit to make wooden tokens for learning about musical beats
- A book of Caribbean song and dance stories
- A wooden recorder (shockingly this went “missing” after a few days…)
Naturally my son wanted to leap in and start making everything at once but I held him off and explained that we would do one activity that afternoon and save the rest for later. Our first activity was the wooden tokens which was also the quickest and easiest one in the box. We stuck the stickers to the tokens and spent the afternoon placing them in different patterns on the glossy numbered sheet that came with it, creating different patterns of claps, stamps and clicks. When we were done the tokens could be packed away inside the little canvas bag that was also included and had been decorated using a stencil and felt pens.
My son’s favorite activity was the rubber band guitar. He spent one afternoon painting it and another putting the rubber bands around it and creating a neck by gluing on the two colored lollipop sticks. Once it was made he spent time playing it and listening to the different sounds he could make by playing the strings in different ways. That guitar is also responsible for George Formby’s “When I’m Cleaning Windows” becoming one of his new favorite songs but that’s a whole other story…
Toucan Boxes are available in three sizes: the Petite box with one activity (£3.95), the Grande with two activities and a book (£9.95), and the Super with four activities and a book (£16.95). With the Grande and Super sized boxes, sibling packs are available at a reduced rate to double the amount of materials included. All the boxes include stickers, which can be collected and exchanged for gifts. The boxes are all available on subscription with taster boxes sent out fortnightly and larger boxes monthly. “Super” boxes can be ordered as one-off individual gifts (at a slightly increased cost) and there’s also a birthday service; this is brilliant if you have lots of nieces, nephews, and grandchildren living far away.
My son loved his Toucan Box and I’m seriously considering ordering some more in the future, both as birthday gifts and for us during the summer break. The activities are all interesting, age appropriate, and fun, along with being educational, and the materials included are of high quality. If you’re also interested in trying out Toucan Box (and live in the UK), then GeekMom has a special code to allow you to try a taster box for free. Simply visit the Toucan Box website and enter the code TOUCAN as the promotional code, then sit back and wait to get crafty.
*Scissors and glue are not included.
GeekMom received this item for review purposes.
