April 26, 2024
30 subscriptions that actually make fantastic holiday gifts | CNN Underscored

30 subscriptions that actually make fantastic holiday gifts | CNN Underscored

Watching a loved one rip into a package on Christmas morning is nice. But knowing several more will be coming throughout the year? Now, that’s what we call capturing the holiday spirit. Monthly subscription services truly are the gifts that keep on giving, and whether you’re shopping for a foodie, a beauty lover, a plant fanatic or someone who’s coffee-obsessed, there’s a service for everyone on your list.

Need more gift ideas? Check out our favorite gift ideas for men, gift ideas for women, ultra-practical gifts and Nordstrom gifts.

Voracious readers will appreciate a gift subscription to this service that allows them to choose from five curated new titles each month. Haven’t had time to finish a book before the next book is sent? You can skip a month. Want more to read? Add other books from the site, including top books from previous months for an additional fee.

A monthly subscription to the Audible service will be well received for those who prefer to listen to their books. The service includes thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and original programming. Want to take it for a spin yourself? Test it out with a free 30-day trial and cancel anytime.

Each Bokksu box comes packed full of 20-plus varieties of Japanese candies and snacks from family-owned businesses, plus a tea pairing and a cultural guide detailing its contents’ origins and flavors. Read our review of it here.

A gift for a furry friend is truly the best one you could give. Every Barkbox comes with two toys, two bags of all-natural treats and one chew, all tailored to a monthly theme.

Yes, cats can have their own subscription boxes too. This one sends them toys filled with catnip and treats. Plus you can choose the right box for you, including ones for multi-cat households or those with dietary needs.

For the person who can never have enough socks, this subscription box sends them a fancy, fun new pair every month.

The sweetest gift for the sugar fiends on your list? A box filled with goodies (think chocolates, buttery cookies, Moose Munch popcorn and more) delivered to their doorsteps each month. Each box comes with a different theme so they’ll never grow tired of a certain treat.

With the gift of MasterClass, your giftee can choose to study creative writing with Margaret Atwood, acting with Samuel L. Jackson and so much more. Offering digestible virtual lessons on users’ own time, MasterClass is anyone’s best bet for learning a new skill.

Amateur bartenders will toast this gift subscription that delivers a box filled with three recipes and all the ingredients (minus the alcohol) needed to make 12 drinks (four per recipe). Available in monthly, three-month, six-month or 12-month subscriptions, the November box featured an American apple brandy theme, with recipes from New York-based mixologists. We’ll drink to that!

If you’re shopping for a homebody on your list (and this year, who isn’t), GlobeIn delivers handcrafted items from around the globe to keep your surroundings beautiful. Check out our review of it here.

This subscription club sends one must-own record from the Golden Era of Vinyl (which is the 1960s to the 1970s in their opinion) each month, handpicked by the experts at Amazon Music. For anyone who prefers records above anything else, this is the gift for them.

Flowers on repeat? Yes, please! Brighten someone’s day over and over again with this thoughtful gift that delivers lovely arrangements to the lucky recipient’s door on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule. Choose from Classic, Seasonal or Luxe bouquets — from $55, $85 and $105 per delivery, respectively — and be prepared for many, many thank-you notes to come.

For your favorite snacker, this box sends them at least five treats from a different country every single month. If they’re craving variety, they’ll love this.

If you’re buying a gift for a couple, this box comes with relationship-building games and activities focused on making them laugh and also reconnect.

For the person who can never have too many plants around, this subscription box includes two houseplants in 4-inch pots, two fertilizer tabs to keep each plant fed for up to 6 months, and a 1-year subscription to a plant care app called Super Greg. Now that’s thoughtful.

The biggest carnivore in your life will love this one. Take your pick from jerky snacks and cured meat sticks that will be delivered to them on a monthly basis.

The overall winner of Underscored’s best overall coffee subscription box testing, Blue Bottle’s service offers customized, delicious, high-quality coffee perfect for a wide variety of coffee drinkers. Choose from several subscriptions that allow you to opt for single-origin coffees, espresso beans or decaf, or a mix-and-match option and pick from one-, two-, three- or four-week intervals as well as coffee sizes from 6 to 36 ounces.

Give the coffee lover in your life the gift of single-origin beans from around the world. Atlas Coffee Club will send one box of beans from a different country every month, along with an informational card and brewing instructions. Read our full review here.

Rated Underscored’s best coffee subscription for those craving variety, Trade’s service begins with a helpful coffee quiz to get you started and offers a number of customizable settings and more than 400 coffee options. It’s easy to try new and interesting coffees with a seemingly unlimited variety of coffee beans to choose from. Plus, Trade allows you to pick which coffees are sent to you, giving you more control than many other services.

Huge coffee snob on your list? Rated the best coffee subscription for the budding connoisseur, a Black Box subscription from Angel’s Cup is a no-brainer. This subscription sends you a box of four different roasts, with only the roast date and a five-digit number to differentiate them. The idea is that each shipment is a blind tasting, so once you brew and drink each coffee, you go to Angel’s Cup’s mobile app to input and rate your tasting notes, comparing your scores to the roastmaster and other people who have tasted the same coffee.

For the person who’s Keurig or bust, this subscription sends them 15 K-cups of coffee, filled with artisan blends along with a detailed description of the coffee. For the coffee nerd who doesn’t like to wait 10 minutes for their latte, this is perfect.

Pairing a favorite hot beverage with classic literature? Sign us up! This unique subscription sends you a 12-ounce bag of coffee plus two new hard cover books of your chosen genre: acclaimed fiction, horror, fantasy, you name it. There’s even an option for a “Surprise me” book to really keep them on their toes.

Beauty and wellness subscription gifts

Know someone stressed out who could use a monthly reminder to indulge in some self-care? This highly rated box is filled with 10 or more treasures each month, including full-size vegan, cruelty-free products. Past boxes have featured jewelry, face serums and masks, candles, snacks, tea, soaps, books, bath bombs and coffee mugs.

Shopping for someone seriously into skin care? This subscription sends sheet masks their way, making it especially good for someone who wants new beauty products on the regular.

With the Allure Beauty Box, they get at least six products (at least three of which will be full-size) delivered to their door on a monthly basis. Given Allure’s overall beauty expertise, this would be a fantastic gift for your favorite beauty fanatic.

Know someone who could use a little pampering? This subscription box comes with seven pampering products plus one self-care activity that can help them keep their mind off things. Reviewers love it.

Makeup and beauty obsessives will swoon over a subscription to Birchbox, which, since 2010, has been delivering boxes filled with sample-size items. Available in monthly, three-month or 12-month plans, products include skin care, hair care, makeup, nail polish and more.

Curated specifically for women of color, this highly rated subscription service box includes five to eight full-size and deluxe travel-size products featuring everything from lipstick to body wash and face masks to false eyelashes.

Love the idea of your BFF, sister or favorite workout pal unpacking a curated box filled with wellness, fitness and beauty products four times a year? This popular subscription service curates six to eight full-size items (and allows for customization for some of them). Past boxes have included a Michael Kors beanie, Koral ankle weights, Dr. Brandt collagen serum, a Sur La Table silicone utensil set and an Unhide blanket, to name just a few.

The spiritually minded will show loads of gratitude for these monthly boxes that feature five to seven full-size products such as crystals, spiritual growth tools, aromatherapy, snacks and vegan beauty items. Past boxes have included candy, candles, jewelry and essential oil sprays.

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