My Two-Year-Old Tested the New Lovevery Play Kit Subscription Box

• Value: 17/20
• Functionality: 20/20
• Quality/Ease of Use: 20/20
• Aesthetics: 20/20
• Hand-Me-Down Potential: 19/20
• TOTAL: 96/100

We’re longtime fans of Lovevery’s Play Kits. The Instagram-worthy subscription delivers a curated mix of Montessori-based toys that not only surprise and delight, they’re so impeccably timed to your baby’s age and stage, they manage to nudge you—the parent—in the right direction at the right time so you’re properly equipped to help your child learn and grow. (A gift, especially to newbies, who can feel like they’re winging it a lot of the time.)

The only downside? Up until recently, the kits cut off at the two-year-mark, leaving parents without a playtime road map at a time when their tantrumy toddler needed one most.

Not anymore—Lovevery recently expanded their toy subscriptions to include 24 to 36 months. In other words, you can now access another year’s worth of their pre-selected toys. We put the new kits to the test to see how they compare.

The Price. I want to preface this review by noting my experience with other subscription toy kits for kids. I’ve tested a variety and the ultimate selling point for Lovevery continues to be the high-quality range of toys and learning opportunities they manage to pack into a single box. No, $36 a month (or $120 for three months’ worth of toddler play) isn’t cheap. But each shipment ups the ante: Like the 25-26-27-month-old box that includes a sustainable play sink amongst numerous other toys. (For the record, before Lovevery expanded their subscription boxes, I purchased a similar play sink on Amazon for my son who loves it…to the tune of $40.)

Style and substance strikes again. Yes, the range of toys to play with is the #1 selling point. At the two-year-old level, this includes a felt flower bouquet that they can plant, pick and assemble into a bouquet on repeat. Or there’s the pail-based scale designed for teaching them the art of balance, measurement and calibration—STEM skills. Most useful to parents are the instructional play guides that accompany each kit. Mine taught me all five ways my child could play with said flowers, and how each could be tailored to his current age.

Yes, some might call this lazy parenting. It’s true that I could research all of this and curate a similar mix of toys myself. But I’m a mom, which makes me tired and time-starved. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge the audible exhale of relief that occurs every time one of these play kits arrives at my door.

My only request to Lovevery: Possible to expand past 36 months?