Category: Fiction

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas during Social Distancing

We are all going though a difficult time, many of us under lock-down orders or even quarantined at some point during the last few months. Now more than ever, Moms, Dads and caregivers are doing so much to keep their families safe, fed and happy. With Mother’s Day coming up we thought one of the best gift ideas for our hardworking and loving mothers is a subscription box tailored to what they like the most! You don’t have to go anywhere to shop for this gift and they will be delivered directly to the recipients doorstep – perfect! Without further adieu here are 8 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas during Social Distancing.

Below we have listed some of our favorite subscription boxes, some we have tried and some we want to!

Note: Affiliate links below. If you click on and purchase any item from this list, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. We thank you for supporting us and keeping our website running!

Causebox

Nanette has tried Causebox and loves it. Every season, members receive a limited edition curation of products from the leading socially conscious brands. Items such as jewelry, bags, eco-friendly items such as reusable product bags or stainless steel mugs and more are included and themed to the season.

Read our review and un-boxing here: Summer Causebox Unboxing and Curated Mother’s Day Gift Box for Only $54.95

Angels’ Cup

If the Mother you’re buying for loves coffee, this subscription box would be a great idea. We also have subscribed to his one and love it! With “The Cupping Flight” subscription you receive 4 32g coffee samples per month. Each sample makes about 2 cups of coffee. The samples come in a blind bag with a number clearly written on the front.

Read our review here: Angels’ Cup Review Coffee Subscription Box. Also, You get 25% off with our code TODAYINEEDACUP!

Birchbox

Birchbox is a beauty, hair and skincare subscription box that sends the recipient 4-5 products a month in a beautifully decorated box. The items will sometimes be sample sized and sometimes full sized. Nanette has been subscribed to Birchbox for eight years! It is great for anyone looking to learn about different beauty brand and try new products.

Wickbox

For moms who love candles and decorating. Each Wickbox features a surprise candle expertly curated to match your scent preferences, delivered to your door monthly.

Plum Deluxe Tea

Mom’s who love tea with love this subscription box! Each month the recipient will get a one oz premium, seasonal tea made just for the club (approx 15-20 cups) and a sample of a tea from their shop.

Decocrate

Perfect for mom’s who love to decorate! Decocrate is a subscription box that makes your home a little more up-to-date with each box. Every three months, they send a handpicked selection of home décor that evokes the season, keeps your space feeling fresh, and works with the pieces you already own and love.

Flaviar

If your mom isn’t about the Rosé, how about the gift of hard to get whiskey? Flaviar is a Whiskey club for explorers at heart. Get them tasting, exploring and engaging with flavors in the world’s largest club of spirits enthusiasts! Give the gift of good taste. This one is highly recommend by our brother 😉

Stitch Fix

Does your mom never have enough time to shop for clothes? Try a gift card from Stitch Fix! Fill out your profile and Stitch Fix will send you pieces to try on at home before you buy. Keep your favorites, send back the rest.

Read our reviews here: I Bought Everything in My Fall Clothing Stitch Fix Box and November Stitch Fix Try-on

April 28, 2020
Raddish Kids Subscription Box Review
Carefully cutting the Zucchini

My daughter received a Raddish kids subscription box for Christmas this year from her grandmother. It’s become a tradition for them to pick a different subscription box each year. It’s a fantastic gift idea, they look forward to getting a package in the mail every month. *My oldest daughter chose Little Passports – stay tuned for a review.

Heart Measuring Spoons

After receiving her first box my daughter was a little disappointed because she thought she would be receiving food along with her recipes, similar to HelloFresh. Each Raddish box includes three different recipes, a shopping list, a kitchen utensil, some activities and a patch for her apron.

Shopping List!

It is important to note that this box requires some heavy adult involvement compared to others we received like Tinker Crate and Kiwi Crate. Also, it will likely require a grocery shopping trip! After receiving her first box my daughter was upset that we couldn’t dive into the recipe right away. Involving her in the prep, like writing her own shopping list, had her excited again.

Raddish Recipe Card

So far, we have made the Harty Lasagna Soup and Raspberry Love Muffins. Both recipes were delicious and easy for my 6-year-old to follow with help. We will be making both recipe again for sure! The heart measuring spoons were also a HUGE hit. Once we were able to cook and get into the recipes my daughter was over the moon. She is now looking forward to her next box!

Raddish Recipe Card Inside – Easy Directions

Overall, I would recommend the Raddish kids subscription box for any child who really loves to cook! If you have a smaller child, know that they will need parent supervision. I plan to update this review as more boxes arrive. We also still have multiple recipes we haven’t been able to try yet.

Hearty Lasagna Soup

Other Subscription Box Reviews
February 7, 2020
Angels’ Cup Review ~ Coffee Subscription Box
It all began Christmas of 2018 when my husband stumbled upon Angels’ Cup. Luckily, he gifted me their “The Cupping Flight” subscription and my journey to learning more about coffee began. I enjoyed the subscription so much that I requested it from my Secret Santa this year, who happened to be Carolyn!

I love coffee but I’m not a coffee aficionado. Coffee is a much needed step in my daily routine, I love coffee for the caffeine! With Angels’ Cup blind pack I’ve been able to learn more about coffee and develop a better palate.

Before we get into specifics we have an exclusive offer for readers. Use code TodayINeedACup for 25% off your order. Visit Angels’ Cup through our affiliate link: HE R E

Nanette’s Angels’ Cup Subscription Review

With “The Cupping Flight” subscription you receive 4 32g samples per month, each sample makes about 2 cups of coffee. The samples come in a blind bag with a number clearly written on the front. You can enter this number into the Angels’ Cup app to start your tasting.

You have 3 tasting options, Quick, Beginner or Advanced. Since I’m fairly new at coffee tasting I like to use the Beginner. When starting the tasting you can choose brew method and note the color of the grounds. Next, you assess the taste using a chart that details complexity, body, bitterness, sweetness and aftertaste. (see below)
After that, you move on to Aroma & Flavor, this is my favorite part. The app provides a wheel with a large selection of flavor/aroma options such as fruits, flowers, herbs, grains, vegetables and more.

Compare to Roastmaster

Finally, you can rate how much you enjoyed the coffee from 0-10 and add any additional comments. The next step is my favorite, once you submit your review you can compare it to a Roastmaster! Are you on target or completely in left field? The more tastings I do the closer I get to tuning my tastebuds and matching the Roastmaster.

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend Angels’ Cup, it makes a unique gift for any holiday – Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day or even National Gourmet Coffee Day (Jan. 18th)!

Eric’s Angels’ Cup Subscription

Eric’s Coffee Subscription Review

Carolyn didn’t only purchase a subscription for me, she also surprised her coffee loving husband. So don’t just take my word for it, read what he has to say.

Eric’s Review: Angel’s Cup was a pleasant surprise gift this year. I had no clue something like this existed but am glad it’s does. Each month I get several choice selections of coffees varying in origin and tasting notes. Even though I always look at what I’m drinking, the packaging provides an opportunity for mystery as each coffee bag is unlabeled (except a number correlated to its description card). I’m excited to try out next month’s coffee adventure. This was a great gift for a daily coffee drinker like me.

Other Subscription Box Reviews

Check out our Reviews for Causebox and Stitch Fix if you are you a subscription box lover.
January 22, 2020
HelloFresh Review ~ Family Meal Box
Yummy, this family loves HelloFresh! Read further for our full HelloFresh Review.

This is our second time trying HelloFresh, 2 years ago we decided to get their meal delivery boxes after we found Blue Apron to be lacking in family friendly meals. They did deliver to our small town in Maine but the ‘fresh’ in HelloFresh was lacking and we had to cancel.

Fast forward 2 years and we found the need to try meal delivery again so we decided to give HelloFresh another go. We chose them because of their family friendly meal options. Our two girls aren’t super picky but they can’t handle spice and prefer comfort food.

HelloFresh Review

I was very happy to see all of the changes they made. You can choose from MANY different meal options each week instead of just a handful. Their delivery is spot on and everything has been arriving very fresh. We have had a few leaky chicken and salmon packages but customer service is very slick and we have been issued credits quickly.

The most impressive thing are the meals themselves. They are super flavorful and easy to adapt for children who prefer less spice or no sauce… or their veggies untouched by seasoning. There are audible “This is sooo good”, “Mom, I LOVE this!” and “This is the best meal ever.”

Meal Cards vs. Actual Meals

Below I have taken some meal card vs. actual meal shots. My presentation isn’t great but you get the idea. My kids favorite is the Crispy Parmesan Chicken and my husband loves all the burgers and the Tunisian-Spiced Meatballs.

Tips on Picking a Recipe

Tip: On every recipe you can see the approximate time it takes to cook and prep! You can choose a quicker meal for the weekday and something that takes a little longer for the weekend. If you can cook uninterrupted and know how to prep foods quickly these times are fairly accurate. If not, they may take a little longer. Getting the timing right takes a little practice – once you get going on a recipe there isn’t much room to stop so plan accordingly. Distract your kids with an activity so you can cook!

Check out our other Subscription Box Reviews
December 3, 2019