We have been lucky enough that a friend has let us borrow all their baby toys until their baby number 2 comes along. So up until now, we hadn’t bought anything for Emi. So that was my excuse when I decided to try out the Lovevery Play Kits. For $80 every 2 months (or basically $40 a month—the price of a gym membership), Emi gets a curation of thoughtful, well-designed, Montessori-based toys that stimulates her developing brain. It is as good as it seems or did I just fall for Instagram hype?
My first impression of the toys were that they are simple but quality made. The wooden toys (made with sustainably sourced wood) are super chic and feel smooth and sleek. The cotton they use is organic and I know they’ve done their research so that all materials are safe for babies mouths. There are some plastic toys in the mix, like a crinkle bag and some plastic (feels like rubber) rings but they serve a purpose (for sound or for touch). There’s there’s not an excessive use of plastic in their selection of toys.
I also love that each box comes with a set of notecards that not only tell you how to use each toy and how they’re helping with your baby’s brain development, but they also tell you what to expect for those months and tips on how to interact with your baby outside of using their toys. And these notecards come with little pep talks and words of encouragement that are nice to read when you’re feeling especially tired (which is pretty much all the time lol).
Since I don’t plan on going to a toy store or buying Emi any toys during my free time, I love that these boxes are delivered to my door and all the guesswork is taken out. Also if you subscribe to their email or instagram, they have other play ideas using objects you can find around the house (like a muffin tin and balls or a balloon tied to her leg—which is her current favorite activity). So even if you don’t buy their products, they’re still a useful brand to follow.
So far Emi is still getting the hang of these toys since they’re still a bit advanced for her (okay so I lied on the page where they asked for Emi’s age-lol, I didn’t want the first box so I said her birth date was a month before her actual birthday). And it even says on the notecards to keep introducing the toys to her multiple times because at this age they won’t get it right away. But I try out different toys daily and it’s been fun to see her developing. The first time I showed her the ring, she couldn’t even grasp it with my help. Now she can reach out and grasp it, though she doesn’t hold onto it very long. Someday she’ll be able to grasp it, hold it and bring it to her mouth. Then she can feel the difference between the two rings included in the box (one is a hard rubber, the other is soft, stuffed, and made of cotton). But literally baby steps right?
So all in all, I do think these play kits are 100% worth it. Especially for the busy parent who wants high quality, educational type toys. It is slightly a pain that you have to subscribe for the whole set to get even one box to try. But just select the pay as you go option (so it’s a full $80 every two months instead of $72) and it’s really easy to stop your subscription at any time. I actually stopped it so that 1) I could see how easy (or hard) it was for the purposes of this review but also because 2) I wasn’t all that excited about the toys in the 5-6 month box. I plan to restart my subscription for the 7-8 month box (which also seems super easy—just a click of a button).
And for those who want to be frugal about the toys they buy their kids, I’ve seen a new Play Kit sell on ebay for $71 and a used one missing a piece for $41 (so you’re looking at a $20 per month price, but I’ll update this review with what I’m actually able to sell it for when I do eventually list it on eBay).
Anyway I’ll also update how Emi plays with these toys as she gets older and my overall impression in a couple of months (and also whether or not I decide to continue my subscription).
P.S. I loved their subscription box so much that I decided to go for their play gym mat as well. You can read my review of that here.
August 2019 update: She’s had this play kit for about 2 months now, and even though she could be ready for the next box, she still loves playing with all the toys in the 3-4 month box. When she first got the box, she only could really play with a couple of the toys and they didn’t hold her interest for very long. But now there are a couple toys that she just loves (like the bell in the wooden circular cage and the crinkly little bag) that she can play for 5-10 minutes at a time (which is long for a baby’s attention span). Anyway we’re not quite ready to sell this box just yet since she loves it so much. And it’s been such a joy to see her grow into these toys like she does her clothes. I have to say I’m 100% satisfied with this lovevery purchase and will definitely be getting another box when she’s ready!
November 2019 Update: She’s 8 and half months and still playing with toys in the 3-4 month box, though I did go ahead and purchase the 7-8 month box. I’ll probably be selling the 3-4 month box soon, so this box had the lifespan of about 6 months (since I got it when she was 2 months old). I definitely don’t think you need to get the whole subscription but these boxed sets work even if you only pick and choose certain stages. I am definitely going to be purchasing another play kit, probably the more expensive toddler phase ones that is supposed to last 3 months.
December 2019 Update: I finally sold the 3-4 month play kit on ebay for $50+$10 shipping, which sounds like a good deal but be forewarned shipping cost $20 through USPS—though it depends how far you have to ship it. I sold it to someone in Illinois so that’s basically over halfway across the country. Anyway I sold it within 2 days with really crappy photos, which tells me I probably could have asked more for it if I had taken better pictures. So I think if you’re willing to do the selling, this play kit will set you back about $30-$40 for 6-7 months of use. That’s not too bad in my opinion!
June 2020: I purchased the first toddler play kit ($120 for toys spanning 3 months) and again I love the quality and Emi loves playing with them. I should note that since writing this original post, Lovevery lets you skip boxes so you don’t have to subscribe/unsubscribe. They will send you an email letting you know when the next box ships and you can opt out of it through the “Manage my subscriptions” tab. I should also note that if you get the 7-8 months play kit like I did, make sure you don’t leave the Ball Drop Box on the ground by the time your kid is of walking age. Emi fell and hit her head on the corner of the box (placed on a wooden floor) and we had to do an injury clinic visit in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic (it was awful but luckily she was alright). In general, now that Emi is walking, I leave the wooden box toys (there’s two in the 13-15 month set) on the carpeted section of the house just in case. But in general after having purchased several play kits over Emi’s first year of life, I would say that Lovevery is definitely worth it.
May 2021: Yep, we’re still getting these Play Kits ($120 for 3 months when they’re over 1) and I have to say they’re even better now than they were before. Lovevery is continuing to improve their boxes with better toys, and now that Emi is 2 two, she’s been enjoying the toys more than when she was an infant. We are still skipping boxes (currently we’re still playing with the 22-24 month one and she’s 26 months). But even the earlier boxes are still challenging her so I don’t feel the need to get new toys every 3 months. Every 6 months, for us, is a great schedule. Anyway just wanted to add this update because if you were to ask me if Lovevery is worth it even now, I would say 100%!
April 2022: Emi’s 3 now and we’re still getting these play kits. I still love these quality educational toys that are mostly wood. I think as they get older, the toys are even more worth it since they really have put some thought in them. I’ve also noticed that they keep editing the boxes so that the next iterations of the play kits are evne better than the first (ngl I was a bit jealous of my friend’s kids’ (who are younger) playkits because they’re better than the ones Emi had lol).
