Lalaalu

Lalaalu is a kids box with a New York City edge. They were previously a subscription service and after receiving an impressive box the first month I instantly signed up for a 6 months subscription. Within the week I received an email from Lalaalu explaining how they were ending their subscription service and creating monthly boxes individual purchase. They honored all existing subscriptions and continued to send out a monthly box. I now see on their website they are sending a box every 2 months. Since the change in the program I have not been thrilled with the boxes I have received. 

The Goods

 NurtureMe

I think Lalaalu has sent these to me in every box. I'm over it. The only good thing about these is that I don't own this variety and I think it would be easy to add some fruit or veggies for a quick meal.

 I'm not actually sure which company previously sent me this but we have it in blue. My kid is totally unimpressed with either of them.

 Now, I'm not really sure why, but I feel like this shirt is girly. Is a bee girly? I don't know. I wouldn't put this on my kid. It's unfortunate because this company had some other tee's that were quite cute. Oh, and I much prefer a tee over a onesie.

 Nature Sounds

Another CD I will never listen to.

 Sporty Babies Wear Sweats

We received a different book in this series last month. I didn't like the first one and I don't care for this one.

Octa Teether

The kid is not impressed with wood teethers. He prefers something with a little squish.

Lalaalu completely struck out with me this month. Not a single thing I find useful. I may try to contact them to see if there is any way to cancel and receive a refund. I'll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: Lalaluu has offered me a partial refund. Not nearly what I think I should be refunded, but they subtracted shipping for the free box I got upfront.

Lalaalu - Urban Artiste Baby

Lalaalu is a monthly box that used to require a subscription but now you can take a sneak peak and decide if you want to purchase each month. Boxes range from $30 to $40 and are geared for infants and kids. 

The box is not overly exciting.... just white with a sticker slapped on.

The Info Sheet

This month I received The Urban Artiste Baby Kidbox

The goods. I was impressed with how much stuff there was. This one was already looking better than last month.

Flip A Face

This is a CUTE book! My 4 month old appreciates the contrasting colors right now but I can see this book being popular amongst the young toddler crowd, too.

6.29

Babo Botanicals Clean Sport Shampoo and Wash

This stuff smells good! We just signed up for Mommy and Me swim class so this will go with us.

11.77

Little Black Book

Oh my god, did I just see "scratch and sniff"? I had a slight flashback to my childhood in the 80's and I couldn't wait to bust this book open. Turns out the only thing to "sniff" is a black licorice smell. Yuck! Still a cute book. It'll be a little while before my kid can appreciate it but that's alright.

8.09

Nurturmeals

I've received a bunch of these in other boxes but they've all been the very basics. These have some mashups which is a nice change. Haven't tried them out yet but they seem great for travel.

5.38

Little Pim French Bop

Hmmm... French music. Well, there are a couple songs I recognize.

16.98

Wee Gallery Art Cards

Simple cards with high contrast. I pulled them out the other evening when my kid was super fussy and he was mesmerized by them for nearly 15 minutes. 

13.10

Kinder By Nature Wipes

I'm happy to get wipes. I know I'll use them. That being said, I've already got a favorite so I'm usually super judgmental of new ones :)

6.99

Overall value of this box is 68.60. What a steal. All values were from current Amazon prices. Check 'em out:

www.lalaalu.com

Lalaalu - Urban Roller

Lalaalu has recently switched from a monthly subscription box to a no strings attached, urban themed, monthly box which allows you to preview before you purchase. Of course they made this switch a week or so after I purchased a six month subscription after being very pleased with my initial box. They intend to fulfill all subscriptions with these new boxes and hopefully I won't be disappointed in my investment.

This months box for my 3 month old was Urban Roller - part of the Urban Cruiser June theme. It's intended to get my man ready to hit the streets this summer.

Here it is!

The info sheet:

Bathtime Baby Hair and Body Wash 

$12.50

This is a full size bottle and it smells good. Fresh and a little masculine which will work for my little man. I have a drawer full of shampoo/body washes now from my subscriptions but eventually I'll get around to using it. 

Episencial Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35

$15 on Lalaalu info sheet but available on Amazon for $9.85 on their subscribe and save plan (when you purchase 5 items a month, which I do)

We are doing some traveling this summer while my husband can get the time off work so I'm happy to have more sunscreen. Again, we've been sent quite a few bottles of sunscreen in our subscription boxes lately but hopefully we get around to using them all. This sunscreen like most others isn't recommended until your child hits the 6M mark and my little one won't hit that until August. I'm curious what the deal with that recommendation is and if I want to push it a little. I haven't had a chance to do my research so feel free to give me your input on this one. 

Plum Organics Little Yums and Greek Yogurt Pouches

$10 per Lalaalu/$7.37 Babies R Us

I love Plum Organics and I'm always happy to see them in a box - even if I already have a bunch. My kid is just gearing up for his adventure into actual food. I did not have any of the Little Yums just yet, so that was a nice change. Not sure when to expect my kid to be ready for these, but they don't expire until Feb of 2014 so that gives us plenty of time. I listed the Babies R Us price because Amazon doesn't sell the pouches individually. If you purchase them by the box the price per pouch makes them even cheaper, however. Under $7 for 2 plus the Yums. 

Urban Babies Wear Black

$6.95 per Lalaalu/ $6.25 on Amazon

This is where subscribing to an "Urban" box doesn't work so well for us. We are more of a country suburb kind of family. So my kid doesn't do yoga. He doesn't visit galleries. He doesn't attend the opera. And he's never been in a taxi. I might pass this book along to an urban mama.

Early Lingo: Part 1 of 12 Spanish

$20

The info sheet from Lalaalu says I can impress the lunch bunch crew by ordering a pear in French. But this video is for Spanish?? I'm not sure how I feel about this video. I'm a new parent so I'm still living in the bubble of thinking my kid won't be watching any tv/videos any time soon. And while Spanish is very valuable to learn, my husband and I don't speak it at all (we both took German in school), so it would be difficult to practice with the kid. 

This months box also came with a $25 gift card for Zeel - a massage on demand company. Unfortunately, it's only available in NY so it does me no good. Any NY'ers interested? 

Also included were a couple coupons for Plum Organics which I will surely use. 

All told I value this box at $55.97 per Amazon and Babies R Us. I did not include the gift card which I cannot use or the coupons. So it's a great deal for what I actually paid (about $23.33 per month with the subscription). The boxes now run between $30 - $40 per month plus $4.95 shipping and handling. You do get to see what you are getting before buying, though. I'm curious to see how the boxes will be in the future now that the subscriptions have ended.

Try them out at lalaalu.com and tell them wherethesubmarinetakesus sent you!