The Best Subscription Boxes for Every Type of Person (That Also Make Great Gifts)
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When it comes to holiday gifting, my personal philosophy is that an assortment of small, delightful sundries bundled together can often be more fun to unwrap than a singular big-ticket item, so subscription boxes are right up my alley. There’s one out there for just about every interest, hobby, and pastime, and the amount of joy they inspire can far exceed the level of effort required on your part. You only check out once, but the recurring shipments that show up on their doorstep will keep the warm, fuzzy feelings going for at least a month or two — which means they also make for great last-minute gifts if you’re scrambling to come up with an eleventh-hour present.
Below, I’ve rounded up some of the best, most giftable subscription boxes for every type of person, from the coffee snob to the perfume obsessive to the avid bullet journaler. The prices listed are for the lowest-commitment plan.
Food and drink
For the person dropping into Mitsuwa every week
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Bokksu Gift Bokksu Snack Box
With a Bokksu subscription, they’ll receive a variety of snacks and teas sourced directly from small family businesses in Japan. Treats include loquat candies and Hokkaido melon cookies.
For the person who has never tried Pocky
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Ease them into the wonderful world of international snacks with TokyoTreat’s boxes, which contain slightly more mainstream goodies that you might find at any Asian corner store. Think: rare Kit Kat flavors, Japanese versions of sodas, and mochis and jellies. The minimum subscription term is three months.
For the person who’s a real peach
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Frog Hollow Farm Farm Box Membership
Frog Hollow Farm’s subscription includes a three-, five-, or ten-pound box of seasonal fruits. Depending on the time of year, your giftee can expect citrus, apricots, apples, pears, or other delicious fruits. Senior editor Winnie Yang has been a satisfied subscriber for ten years and says the stone fruit in particular — cherries, apricots, peaches, and plums — “is the best stone fruit I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
For the tea drinker ready to expand their horizons
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Atlas Tea Club’s tea-of-the-month-club membership will let them enjoy a selection of single-origin teas from around the world. The tea comes loose-leaf, which tea snobs will love, but newbies won’t be left behind, since each variety comes with steeping recommendations, tasting notes, and a postcard about the history of the region the tea came from. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the tea drinker who also needs a nibble
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Té Company Subscription
Té Company offers recurring subscriptions to its wide variety of loose-leaf teas; personally, though, I’m intrigued by the selection of optional tea snacks, especially these bite-size bars.
For the coffee drinker ready to level up from Starbucks
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For those in the process of figuring out their coffee preferences, Driftaway’s first subscription box will be a tasting kit of four two-ounce bags of coffee, and after they review those, they’ll be able to tailor future shipments. The minimum subscription available lasts three months.
For the coffee drinker with a highly picky palate
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Trade Coffee Gift Subscription
If they already know what they like, Trade Coffee uses a quiz to match recipients with one of more than 400 coffees in its collection, curated from roasters spread across the U.S., so even the most serious coffee snobs should find something to suit their taste.
For the gluten enthusiast
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Wildgrain delivers bake-from-frozen breads, fresh pastas, and artisan pastries sourced from across the U.S. With no thawing needed and a quick bake or cook time, they can enjoy warm bread and other goodies at basically a moment’s notice.
For the person whose best days start with a pastry
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San Francisco’s Le Marais Bakery is known for its mouthwatering croissants. This subscription includes three shipments of almond, au beurre, and chocolate croissants that arrive frozen and ready to bake. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the tinned-fish aficionado
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Lata Monthly Discovery Box Lite
Lata’s monthly subscription offers a rotating selection of either three or four premium tinned-seafood products, usually from small-batch producers. As a tinned-fish lover, I had to try Lata’s offerings for myself; my shipment included several varieties that I’d never tasted before but were absolutely delicious spread over crackers or incorporated into a lemony pasta.
For the person who insists there’s a difference between De Cecco and Barilla
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Indulge their palate for pasta with a subscription from artisanal pasta-maker Sfoglini. In each quarterly shipment, they’ll receive six boxes of the brand’s signature organic semolina pasta, three boxes of specialty pasta, and six recipes. Subscriptions start at a six-month minimum, which includes two shipments of six pastas for a total of 12 pastas.
For the person who makes popcorn on the stove
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A subscription to Cheerie Lane’s heirloom popcorn kernels will allow them to try all of the brand’s fun flavors, including Rosemary Garlic and Tomato Basil.
For the person with an entry-level spice rack
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RawSpiceBar The Spice Adventure
Once a month, they’ll receive a freshly ground small-batch spice blend along with recipes to use it with, with previous blends including garam masala, za’atar, and shawarma seasoning.
For the person with an advanced-level spice cabinet
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Burlap and Barrel Spice Club
Burlap and Barrel’s Spice Club will step up their seasoning collection with offerings like Anatolian sage, damask rose petals, and Pemba cloves.
For the person who screams for ice cream
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McConnell’s Pint of the Month Club
Each delivery from McConnell’s Pint of the Month Club contains four pints of ice cream, including new flavor launches and limited-edition releases along with fan favorites. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person whose go-to snack is cheese and crackers
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Murray’s Cheese Explorer’s Club
This entry-level subscription will let them try three cheeses a month, though at the highest level, you can get a full cheese board — perfect for people who entertain regularly. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person who never says no to bacon
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Zingerman’s Bacon Club - 3 months
Zingerman’s has lots of monthly food clubs, from coffee cake to Jewish deli noshes, but the Bacon Club is one of its bestsellers. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person whose favorite little treat is Levain’s chocolate-chip cookie
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Every month, members of Levain’s Cookie Club will receive a box of eight cookies delivered straight to their door. You can sign them up for a surprise assortment or choose a selection of tried-and-true favorites.
For the person whose favorite little treat is Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding
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Each shipment from Magnolia’s Pudding of the Month club includes three limited-edition pudding cups, three classic banana-pudding cups, and a special surprise that changes every month. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person who left New York (and misses it)
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Monthly NYC Subscription
Goldbelly’s monthly NYC subscription includes a selection of the city’s most iconic eats, from everything bagels to pepperoni pizza to black-and-white cookies.
For the person who loves exotic produce
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Miami Fruit Variety Box
For someone who’s interested in trying fruits like mamey sapote, pawpaws, and soursop, Miami Fruit offers a variety box filled with produce that might be harder to find at your local grocery store.
For the person who drizzles olive oil on everything
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Strategist senior writer Emma Wartzman says Wonder Valley’s Oil Club makes a great gift, especially since each bottle comes with an additional surprise item from brands like Diaspora and Dark Horse Organic. Your giftee will receive four quarterly shipments total.
For the chocoholic
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Compartés’s chocolate-of-the-month club comes with a selection of the brand’s gourmet chocolate bars and bonbons, including special releases and exclusive products.
Bath and beauty
For the person who’s always tinkering with their skin-care routine
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Each edition of Dermstore’s Beautyfix box delivers at least six skin-care products valued at over $100. Lots are from Strategist-approved brands, like BioDerma, La Roche-Posay, and First Aid Beauty.
For the person who spends hours in the tub
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Bath Bevy’s boxes contain all the products they’ll need to elevate their soak, from whipped soaps to bath bombs to salt scrubs sourced from indie brands. If they love a self-care moment but don’t have the luxury of a tub, Bath Bevy also offers a Tubless option containing lotions, shower steamers, and more.
For the person who opts for only clean-beauty products
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Lush Kitchen Box Subscription
Lush’s Kitchen boxes feature a different theme each month and include a mix of bath, shower, and skin-care products that are all vegan-friendly (and delicious smelling).
[Editor’s note: The cutoff date for the January box has passed, so your giftee’s first box will arrive in February.]
For the fraghead building out their scent wardrobe
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Perfume is expensive — and exceptionally hard to gift — but with Scentbird, they can get a new trial-size fragrance, including cologne, every month. Gift subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person who sniffs out small businesses
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Humboldt House, a small home-goods and lifestyle shop in Chicago, offers several monthly Hauls: a collection of finds from shop founder Claire Tibbs. Each Home Body Haul has lots of self-care goodies, like candles, incense, soaks, and masks, while Home Cook Hauls include cookbooks, tapered candles, kitchen tools, and more.
Home and hobbies
For the aspiring Jeopardy! contestant
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History by Mail Subscription
Trivia buffs will appreciate History by Mail, which sends detailed replicas of historical documents along with additional information on the context and cultural significance. Past examples include Albert Einstein’s correspondence with FDR and the police report from when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat. History by Mail offers a one-month subscription for $9, but subscriptions purchased through Uncommon Goods require a six-month minimum.
For the person whose FYP is all #BookTok
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Help your bookish friend stay up to date on the latest releases with a Book of the Month subscription. The service releases a monthly curated list of new reads on offer, and each month, your friend or loved one can pick out the one they’re most interested in. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the person who has a standing date with the Sunday crossword
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‘Sunday Club’ Subscription
A great gift for someone who subscribes to the Times just for the games, every print issue of Sunday Club includes a crossword plus other paper-and-pencil games like sudoku, word searches, and more.
For the person collecting underground zines
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Stack Magazine Subscription
With Stack, they’ll receive one issue of a different independent magazine every month. Past deliveries have included titles like Cake Zine, Serviette, Mildew, and Playground.
For the person who keeps their car spick-and-span
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Help them upgrade from Black Ice with Drift, which sends a new car freshener made of either wood, stone, or metal every month or two months. They can choose from classic scents like teak or grove, or go with the limited-edition “scent of the month.”
For the picky boyfriend
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Bespoke Post curates products from under-the-radar brands with a customizable monthly-membership box centered on different themes, such as outdoor gear, cooking and kitchen tools, and men’s style and accessories.
For the lover of little luxuries
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Flamingo Estate’s quarterly subscription box curates an assortment of the brand’s garden-inspired kitchen, home, and bath essentials tailored to each season. The current Winter box is a tribute to Bhutan and includes shilajit, cordyceps and black turmeric honey, and hazelnut chocolate spread.
[Editor’s note: This box is currently wait-listed.]
For the person posting their plant babies more than their actual kids
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Hey Rooted Small Mystery Plant
With HeyRooted’s mystery plant subscription, your giftee will receive a four-inch potted plant every month. If they have a dog or cat in the house, there’s also an option to send only pet-friendly plants.
For the person who spends their weekends logging miles
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Fuel Goods The RunnerBox
Every other month, a box loaded with hydration tablets, energy bars, and other products and accessories geared toward runners — even sneaker detergent — will ship straight to their door.
For the person who’s going through it
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TheraBox Self Care Gift Box
Therabox’s self-care boxes include an assortment of aromatherapy and bath-and-body products, as well as supplies for mindful activities like meditation. Strategist sleep writer Amelia Jerden was especially delighted to discover sleep-centered essential oils and magnesium spray in her shipment.
For the person who journals to stay organized
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Cloth and Paper’s stationery subscription includes notebooks, sticky pads, writing instruments, and more so they can plan out their week, month, and year with intention.
For the person who journals for a creative outlet
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Archer and Olive’s stationery subscription comes with plenty of stickers, collage paper, and washi tape.
For the person who’s on a first-name basis with their florist
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Urban Stems’ beautifully luxe flower arrangements are guaranteed to brighten your giftee’s day.
For the person who picks up a weekly bouquet at the farmer’s market
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The Bouqs Co. Flower Subscription
The Bouqs Co. flowers are freshly cut and delivered from ecofriendly farms. You can set the size — either 10 to 16 or 30 to 45 stems — as well the delivery pace.
Kids
For the kid who’s a hands-on learner
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KiwiCo Crates
KiwiCo kits are divided into developmentally appropriate categories for every stage of childhood. Each subscription box has a different age range and area of focus, from geography and culture to science and engineering, and contains fun, innovative crafts and projects.
For the kid who’s STEM-oriented
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Founded by former NASA engineer Mark Rober, CrunchLabs’ Build Box includes everything they’ll need to assemble a DIY toy like a disc launcher or trip wire. Subscriptions start at a three-month minimum.
For the kid who’s ready to branch out beyond Claire’s
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Pierced Monthly Earring Subscription
With Pierced’s earring subscription, they’ll receive a pair of earrings every month in either a flat-screwback or huggie-charm style. It’s especially suited for kids with sensitive skin as the earrings are hypoallergenic and made of surgical-grade stainless steel.
For the kid who’s a bookworm
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Every book in this monthly subscription is selected by the expert booksellers at the Reading Bug, an independent, family-owned children’s bookstore. The books are handpicked to match the recipient’s age, interests, and reading ability.
For the kid with an interest in printed matter
It’s not a true subscription box, but a magazine subscription provides an exciting regular delivery nonetheless — and there are lots of great ones for kids covering everything from crafts to cooking to chemistry.
For the kid who’s curious about the world
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Little Passports’ monthly boxes help teach geography, science, world cultures, and the arts to kids with hands-on activities, games, play sets and more. The boxes are geared toward a variety of age ranges, from ages 3 to 8 and up.
More Christmas Gift Ideas
- 54 Gifts for Moms (at Every Price Point)
- If You’re Planning on Buying an Advent Calendar This Year, Get It On Sale
- The 59 Best Gifts for Every Type of Boyfriend
- The Best Gifts for 6-Month-Olds, According to Experts
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
