Best grown up gift subscriptions for the Holidays?

December 6, 2013 8:24 AM

Please help me find grown up, monthly, gift subscriptions...

I love the idea of a monthly gift subscription for a holiday gift. I have the kids covered but would like to gift some to some of the older members of my family. Barring the usual ones of magazines, fruit and alcohol, what are some great, monthly gifts that you've seen? The more creative, the better. Thanks!

posted by pearlybob to Shopping (21 answers total)

If any of them have a dog, do Bark Box! I have at least as much fun opening them as my dog does.
posted by phunniemee at 8:27 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

In the same vein, Birchbox is a total blast to receive. I gave my sister a 6 month subscription for her birthday last year and she said that was just about the right amount of time.
posted by hungrybruno at 8:29 AM on December 6, 2013

I love Ipsy, $10/month for a bag of 4-5 make-up samples mostly personalized based on a survey you take, but they often have a waitlist so not sure how that works with gift subscriptions. Also new on the scene: Hella Tights, a monthly tights subscription club! They do gift subscriptions. Haven't tried them yet but it looks pretty fun.
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:32 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I like the Ramblings of A Suburban Mom blog for subscription box ideas and reviews.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:37 AM on December 6, 2013

Cooks Illustrated magazine. It is only ~20$ but really fabulous.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 8:40 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Lifehacker asked this question a couple of weeks ago. There were many suggestions and comments. Now that I look more closely I guess they also include some for kids and pets, but there are plenty for adults.
posted by sevenless at 8:41 AM on December 6, 2013

I don't think it fulfills the "great" part, but maybe "creative" -- if you Google "monthly period gift box" you will find a few places hawking regular shipments of tampons (and chocolate bars or whatever broads-must-like-this? in some cases).
posted by kmennie at 8:45 AM on December 6, 2013

Bacon of the month club.
posted by jbickers at 8:53 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stridebox looks like a great gift subscription for any runners in your life.
posted by barnoley at 8:55 AM on December 6, 2013

Murray's Cheese and/or Meat of the Month

Craft Coffee of the Month

For knitters: Yarnbox

Search Etsy -- soaps, candles, lingerie, handmade socks, bread, fabric, pies, etc.
posted by melissasaurus at 9:01 AM on December 6, 2013

I love the idea of Art in a Box, though I think there are some other similar products out there as well. A friend just started getting Loot Crate, which was full of many nerdy delights.
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:18 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

For the non-physical, and the music lovers: Drip.fm now carries 32 different labels/groups, and monthly prices range from $10-20 USD per label/group. For that, you get EVERYTHING a label releases, plus some subscriber goodies. Audio is available to download in MP3 or lossless formats, and you can stream the releases, too. Along those same lines, there's Nicholas Jaar's Other People label/project, where you pay $5 per month, or $50 per year, and you get one new release each Sunday.

Much of Drip.fm skews towards electronic/dance genres, but as they add more labels, the range of styles and sounds increases, too, while Other People is very much focused on electronic music, often leaning ambient/minimal.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:34 AM on December 6, 2013

relevant thread
posted by tinymegalo at 9:35 AM on December 6, 2013

If they love cooking you could get them a CSA subscription. But that's kind of a commitment to cooking so it would only work if you KNEW it wouldn't be a burden.
posted by aniola at 10:55 AM on December 6, 2013

My current favourite is Not Another Bill, it's not especially cheap but the gifts are unique.
posted by Snazzy67 at 11:36 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Some folks I know have put together a gift subscription of locally made Hawaii items (some art, a lot of food) if someone in your family dreams of Hawai'i breezes.
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:17 PM on December 6, 2013

Powell's Books does Indiespensable which is a book plus some other treats. It may be out of your price range - it is out of mine - at around $40/month.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:27 PM on December 6, 2013

These are both UK based ones that I've got for people that have been well received.
Souksouk is a similar idea to birchbox, but all cruelty free products. Comes really nicely packaged with a little magazine.

Persephone Books specialise in interesting and otherwise neglected twentieth century writers, mainly women - they have a 12 or 6 month subscription and a really good list of suggested titles for different interests. They are lovely books, with gorgeous dove grey bindings, and the endpapers are always a beautiful fabric print from the appropriate time.
posted by tardigrade at 3:16 PM on December 6, 2013

Zingerman's, Zingerman's, Zingerman's.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 6:58 PM on December 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

Craft Brewed Clothing sells subscriptions of T-shirts from various microbreweries around the country.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 7:06 PM on December 6, 2013

Quarterly.co has been great.
posted by richmondparker at 1:43 PM on December 8, 2013