The reference box
What Lovevery costs and includes
Lovevery’s Play Kits are stage-based sets of playthings and books for children from birth to age 5, each with a Play Guide for the parent. Your child’s birth date or due date sets the starting kit, and the next one ships as your child ages into a new stage.
- Contents
- Playthings and books chosen for one developmental window, plus the Play Guide. Kits can’t be customized. The subscription also includes the Lovevery App and its parent courses.
- Price and billing
- $80 a kit every 2 months in the first year, then $120 a kit every 3 months from age 1. Both work out to about $40 per month of play. Prepay & Save covers three kits, then returns to pay per kit.
- Delivery
- Free on Play Kits in the contiguous US and Canada. The first kit ships right after checkout. The subscription ends at age 5.
- Commitment
- Skip or cancel anytime, at least 3 days before a kit ships. There’s no pause option.
- Gifting
- Lovevery retired its prepaid Play Kits gift in September 2026. Gift-givers now start a subscription for the family or buy a single toddler kit.
- On Cratejoy
- No. None of the boxes below are Lovevery products.
Compare the boxes
| Box | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lovevery Play Kits Reference box |
Birth to age 5, one kit per developmental stage | $80 a kit to age 1, then $120 a kit. | Every 2 months, then every 3 months. Free in the contiguous US and Canada. |
| 123 Baby Box | Ages 0–3, six to eight wooden toys a month | $65 a month, $50 a box on a 12-month prepay. | Monthly. Order by the 30th for that month’s box. |
| Baby Discovery Box | The first year, one box per month of age | $55 a month, $50 a box on a 12-month prepay. | Monthly, starting with your baby’s current month. |
| Didis Toy Box | Ages 0–6, two to four full-size heirloom toys | $50 a month, month to month only. | Ships around the 12th. Order by the 20th of the month before. |
| Bookroo | Ages 0–6, board books or picture books | $25 a month, $22 a box on a 12-month prepay. | First box within 3 days, then on the 10th. |
| Green Kid Crafts | Ages 3–4 in the Junior Box, science and craft projects | $40 a month, $32 a box on a 12-month prepay. | First box ships 1 to 4 days after ordering, then monthly. Free US shipping. |
| KiwiCo Panda Crate | Ages 0–3, stage-matched toys and a grownup guide | From $42 a crate. Cancel anytime. | Every 2 months. Free shipping. |
Every Cratejoy box here renews monthly until you cancel, and you can skip a month or cancel anytime. Four of the five lower the price per box when you prepay.
The alternatives
Age-matched toys every month
123 Baby Box vs Lovevery
Best for: Parents and grandparents who want a box of age-matched toys every month from birth to age 3.
123 Baby Box sends six to eight toys a month, picked for the baby’s age and developmental stage and made from sustainable wood. The listing has 655 reviews, and many of the newest come from grandparents buying for a grandchild. The seller has been on Cratejoy for six years.
What feels familiar
Wooden toys matched to a stage, in a box that changes as your child grows through age 3.
What changes
A box arrives every month, so there’s more to open and more to store, and it costs more per month than Lovevery even on the 12-box prepay. The listing doesn’t describe a parent guide like the Play Guide.
The first year, with a parent guide
Baby Discovery Box vs Lovevery
Best for: New parents who want guidance to come with the toys during the first year.
Baby Discovery Box is built around the first 12 months. You choose the starting box by your baby’s age, from Box One for a one-month-old to Box Twelve, and each box pairs toys with board books, a food item for exploring taste and smell, and a guide to that stage for you.
What feels familiar
Month-by-month timing, and a written guide for you that does the job of Lovevery’s Play Guide.
What changes
It ends at 12 months, where Lovevery runs to age 5, and food is part of the mix. A new box comes every month instead of every other month, so you’ll pay more over the year.
Fewer, heirloom toys
Didis Toy Box vs Lovevery
Best for: Families who would rather add a few well-made toys each month than a pile of small ones.
Didis Toy Box sends two to four full-size heirloom toys a month, many of them European finds, for one of four age ranges: infant, toddler, preschooler, and kindergartner up to age 6.
What feels familiar
Toys picked for learning through play and made to last well past the month they arrive.
What changes
The age ranges are wide, a year or more each, so picks follow the range instead of your child’s exact month. There’s no prepay discount, and the kindergartner box keeps going a year past the age where Lovevery stops.
Books instead of toys
Bookroo vs Lovevery
Best for: Families whose favorite part of each Play Kit was the books.
Bookroo’s Baby & Preschool Book Club sends three board books a month for ages 0 to 3, or two hardcover picture books for ages 3 to 6. A sibling box covers both ages at once. The listing has 236 reviews.
What feels familiar
Books chosen for your child’s age, arriving on a schedule so the shelf grows without a trip to the store.
What changes
It’s books only. It also has the lowest monthly price of the Cratejoy picks, which leaves room to pair it with a toy box.
Projects for ages 3 and 4
Green Kid Crafts vs Lovevery
Best for: A 3- or 4-year-old who’s ready to make things.
Green Kid Crafts was founded by a scientist mom, and its Junior Box is made for ages 3 to 4. Each box holds four to six science and craft activities built from environmentally friendly materials, plus a 12-page magazine of puzzles, games, and extra project ideas. The Discovery Box takes over at age 5.
What feels familiar
Hands-on learning with early science in it, like the STEM lessons Lovevery works into its kits from age 2.
What changes
Projects get used up, where Lovevery’s playthings stay in the toy rotation. The upside is that the subscription keeps going after age 5, through the Discovery Box for ages 5 to 10 and up.
Lovevery’s rhythm at a lower starting price
KiwiCo Panda Crate vs Lovevery
Best for: Parents who like getting a new set every other month and want a smaller first step.
KiwiCo Panda Crate sends toys matched to a baby’s or toddler’s age and stage every 2 months, from birth to age 3. The Essentials plan brings five to seven toys and an in-depth grownup guide, and the Plus and Deluxe plans add grow-with-me toys and extra play guides. KiwiCo isn’t sold on Cratejoy, so the link goes to its own site.
What feels familiar
Stage-matched toys and a parent guide on the same every-two-months schedule Lovevery uses in the first year. A Seattle Children’s Hospital pediatrician helps develop its products and curriculum.
What changes
It ends at age 3, two years before Lovevery does. Books come only with the Deluxe plan, starting at $82 a crate, where Lovevery puts books in its kits.
The honest part
When Lovevery is still the better fit
Keep Lovevery if you want one program from birth to age 5, with the same guidance the whole way: a Play Guide in every kit, plus the app and parent courses that come with the subscription. Its kits ship as your child ages into each new stage. The Cratejoy box closest to that timing, Baby Discovery Box, covers only the first year.
Keep it, too, if monthly cost is the worry. Spread over the months between kits, Lovevery costs less than 123 Baby Box, Baby Discovery Box, or Didis Toy Box, and Play Kits ship free.
How we chose these boxes
We started from the reasons people look past Lovevery: the price of each kit, wanting something new every month, a child aging out at 5, wanting books or projects more than toys, and a harder path for gift-givers now that the prepaid gift is gone. Then we went through Cratejoy’s baby, toddler, and preschool boxes, kept the ones with a working buy button, and chose those that answer one of those reasons. That left five boxes from five sellers. Several Montessori-style boxes on Cratejoy aren’t taking orders right now, so we added KiwiCo Panda Crate as the one outside brand. The photo at the top is Lovevery’s own product image of The Companion Play Kit, for 22 to 24 months.
Questions before switching
What is the closest alternative to Lovevery?
For babies and toddlers, KiwiCo Panda Crate is the closest: stage-matched toys and a grownup guide every 2 months, from birth to age 3. On Cratejoy, Baby Discovery Box comes closest for the first year, with one box for each month of age and a guide for the parent.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Lovevery?
Per box, yes. Per month, less often. Lovevery works out to about $40 per month of play. KiwiCo Panda Crate’s Essentials plan starts at $42 a crate every 2 months, and Bookroo’s book club is $25 a month. The monthly toy boxes on this list cost $50 to $65 a month, so they add up to more over a year even though each box costs less than a Play Kit.
Can I still give Lovevery Play Kits as a gift?
Yes, but not as a prepaid gift. Lovevery retired its prepaid Play Kits gift in September 2026. Gift-givers can start a subscription for the family, which runs until it’s canceled, buy a single toddler kit for 13 months and up, or send a Lovevery gift card. For a set-length gift that doesn’t renew, Didis Toy Box sells a 3 Month Gift box on Cratejoy: a box a month for three months, each with three to four toys picked for the child’s age, paid once.
What can my child move to after Lovevery ends at age 5?
Lovevery’s Play Kits subscription ends at age 5. Didis Toy Box has a kindergartner range up to age 6, Bookroo’s picture book box runs to age 6, and the Green Kid Crafts Discovery Box covers ages 5 to 10 and up. For older kids who like to build, see our KiwiCo alternatives.
