Disclosure: I purchased annual subscriptions to Citrus Lane for my daughters. The links below contain my referral identification.

The December 2014 box from Citrus Lane has arrived. This box is one of the two I subscribe to for my girls. This one is for Em, and is categorized for a 2.5 year-old girl.

Boxes start at just $22 per month for a long-term subscription and go up to $29 for a monthly one. If you are interested in signing up, click here and enter code FRIEND to get 50% off your 1st box!

So here is the breakdown from Em’s box for December 2014. You can see what Preemie received in her box here.

Pizza Play from Green Toys, ARV $27.99 (for a complete set including whole pizza, toppings, box and pizza cutter)

Have fun playing Pizza Parlor with this set, custom-made for Citrus Lane’s little chefs. Little pizza lovers can pretend and play cook and server by taking orders, creating custom pizza slices, and serving guests. Each realistic part is made in the USA from food-safe 100% recycled plastic milk containers that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

While looking up the retail value, I realized this wasn’t really made exclusively for Citrus Lane, well it sort of was. You can’t really buy this toy as is. Green Toys sells this as a complete package with 4 pizza crusts, 20 pizza toppings (4 sauce, 4 cheese, 4 sets pepperoni, 2 sets mushrooms, 2 sets onions, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 red tomato, and 1 green tomato), pizza cutter, Pizza Parlor order forms, and pizza “delivery” box. Would have been nice to have received the entire set rather than just a few pieces of it. Em will have fun cooking pizza in her kitchen, so these pieces will do for now. I will be contacting GT to see if we can purchase the other parts of this set to complete it.

Little Hoot from Chronicle Books, ARV $14.99

Bedtime can be a challenge for many children and this book turns the typical going to bed story on its head. Little Owl is always trying to go to sleep while his parents try to convince him to stay up late like all of the other owls. Kids who have trouble going to bed will enjoy the humor and relate to this fun, playful story.

We really love books. The girls library continues to grow monthly, between books we receive in our subscription boxes as well as from the Jewish Library. A bit steep for a small hardcover book, I am sure this book can be found in Marshalls or TJ Maxx for much less.

Wooden Princess Stamp Set from Melissa & Doug, ARV $9.99

Stamps help encourage your little artist by giving the basic building blocks that can become whatever his mind can imagine. Create scenes with this set of stamps and have fun coloring them in, and enhancing with free form drawings. We also like the sturdy box for organizing and storage, and that the ink is non-toxic and washable.

Em loves playing with stamps, and pretending she’s a princess. This is the one item I was able to customize for the December box, selecting which design we would receive. Stamps are always fun and Em brings home lots of artwork from school with which she used stamps so I know she will really enjoy this set. I was actually surprised at the low price of this set, I assumed it was worth far more. I have seen it at Marshalls before, for even less.

Jammy Sammy from Plum Organics, ARV $4.19 (for an entire box containing 5 pieces)

Jammy Sammy is a snack size twist on a lunchbox favorite. Each yummy bar is made with nourishing ingredients that help kids have more sustained energy throughout the day. Made from certified organic, non-GMO ingredients and 100% whole grains.

We’ve not only received this item in previous boxes, but I have purchased it at the store before. I think its crummy to receive only one piece, especially considering the value of this box. It’s a small square-shaped snack, about the size of a child’s palm. Em wasn’t crazy about them, and I tried several different flavors. It’s cheap and a tease, which I guess is kind of the point, but I feel like it’s an after thought to fill the box and make it seem like there are more “items” over all.

If the Green Toys Pizza Play Set had contained all the pieces and we had received an entire box of Jammy Sammy, then the box value would come to $57.16. All told, the approximate retail value for this box is $39.16, deducting about a third of the price of the Pizza Set as being incomplete. As a one time purchase, this box would have cost $29. Having gotten the box for only $16 at my subscription rate, I still won out on this one and even discovered some new products. And if you want, you can try out your first box for only over half off too! Use code Friend and get your first box for 50% off.

Let me tell you a little secret. I did receive additional coupon codes to be used on all the above mentioned products in their respective online stores. That does add some extra value to the box, but we won’t know how much until and if I use those codes.

Did you get a Citrus Lane box this month? What did you get in yours? Share with us!

Disclosure: I purchased annual subscriptions to Citrus Lane for my daughters. I receive two boxes monthly geared for their age groups. The links above contain my referral identification. If you purchase a subscription using the links below I will receive a credit for referring you. I use these credits to purchase additional boxes and/or products to share with you.