The 12 Best Gift Subscription Boxes for 2020
Subscription boxes are the gift that keeps on giving - in a good way - and this roundup of the 12 best gift subscription boxes for 2020 contain what I would consider to be a well-rounded, cross-genre collection of goodies to suit anyone on your holiday shopping list.
Note: Subscription box prices, where listed, are marked as they were at printing. Prices are subject to change.
BoxDog Custom Dog Subscription Boxes
If you thought your dog liked the bunched up brown paper and cardboard packing materials that come inside boxes you order for yourself, wait 'til your favorite fur buddy sees what's inside a BoxDog subscription box. Toys! Treats! Beds! A handsome new winter coat! The high-end canine toys and gear, the fun frosted cookies and bags of tasty bones handmade by BoxDog chefs, are all spoils for him. And they're all expertly curated by the person who knows him best: you.
Fuego Box Craft Hot Sauce Club
A hot sauce club filled exclusively with craft and small-batch releases, Fuego Box has traveled the world tasting heat, hot, and fire, and collecting some of the finer specimens they've found to bring back for you. And for Dad, your little brother, and Uncle Joe. And for the tacos, BBQ, and pizza you'll sauce up and sweat together over as you beg bystanders (i.e., Mom) to crank on the AC.
That said, while Fuego Box delivers the fire, their goal is not to scorch your tongue or ship you bottled gimmicks. Instead they hope to "deliver you the best hot sauces that you've probably never heard of." When you purchase a subscription, either as a gift or for yourself, you'll receive your choice of monthly or quarterly shipments of hot sauces you're almost guaranteed to have trouble finding anywhere else.
Dry Farm Wines Natural Wines
Dry Farm Wines caters to wine lovers, sure, but they get even more specific with their selections. The Napa-based distributors curate monthly, bi-monthly, or one-off gift boxes of natural wines from small producers that are lower alcohol, sugar-free, and free of additives and extensive processing.
Geared specifically towards healthy lifestylers, and paleo / keto / low-carb dieters, Dry Farm Wines typically come from Europe, and are made with minimal winemaker intervention, using wild native yeasts, and natural / biodynamic farming processes. Bottles are guaranteed to have less than 0.15g of sugar per glass, and are usually 12.5% ABV or less, with a low sulfite content.
All of that is to say, shipments from Dry Farm Wines have fewer calories per glass, and are less likely to steamroll you to major drunkenness and an all-day hangover.
FultonFishMarket.com The Fish Drop Subscription Boxes
Striped bass. Dry jumbo sea scallops. Porgy. Porgy! Like my belly's lookin' these days! Which is another benefit of The Fish Drop seafood subscription boxes from FultonFishMarket.com: the fin fish, scallops, shrimp, oysters, even lobster tails they meticulously vacuum seal and cold pack into each shipment are fresh caught, sustainably sourced, and packed with protein and healthy Omega-3s.
Whether for yourself or as a gift for a seafoodie, The Fish Drop subscription boxes are equal parts easy and tasty ways to reel in dinner. Not to mention a reliable supplement to grocery delivery services - I find my grocery stores either can't / won't maintain a current inventory of their fresh seafood for online ordering, or the fish and shrimp I order shows up somewhere between lackluster and slimy.
Dungeon in a Box RPG Subscription Box
Take your D&D fantasies a little deeper - let's say, dungeon deep - with Dungeon in a Box, a new monthly RPS subscription box developed and curated by David Crennen of Dungeons & Dragons show Crit Juice.
Each Dungeon in a Box includes a 24-page adventure book, a 24" x 18" fold-out battle map, 2 x sculpted minis, dungeon terrain, monster tokens, and a few hidden surprises. The ongoing D&D adventures are exclusive to D in a B, and all are compatible with the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
Dungeons in a Box are available as one-offs if you just want to try one out, or as part of a monthly subscription service, with 3-, 6-, and 12-month signup options.
Not Vanilla Club - Adult Toy Subscription Box (NSFW)
I don't think it's by chance that all of Not Vanilla Club's adult product subscription plans cost some amount of dollars and 69 cents. A ssssssexy price for a ssssssexy service.
Not Vanilla Club brings adult toys and other sex-centric items to the trend of mailed mystery swag. Membership options are available for monthly, Bi-(curious?)-monthly, and one-(jack?)-off deliveries, and new members will fill out a questionnaire of preferences at the time of order to help Not Vanilla Club determine how tame or kinky they want them to go with their hand-picked helpers.
CosyKiller Murder Mystery Subscription Boxes
Red Herring Games takes trendy subscription box services to killer levels with their CosyKiller murder mystery box games. Each murder storyline is designed to take a year to solve, with 12 unique boxes shipped monthly providing clues and ciphers, puzzles, mementos, and sketches and photos you'll use to piece together the background, unravel the plot, and catch the killer.
Internet Cookies - A Cookie Subscription for Foodies
Oh Internet, I will definitely accept these Cookies. If you're a sweet snack monster, and maybe even more so if you're a foodie who needs more than the "C" in "cookie" to make it good enough for you, check out Internet Cookies, a baked cookie subscription service that ships between 1/2 and 2 dozen gourmet treats to your door every month.
Internet Cookies bake at the hand of Gaia M. Valdemarsdottir Acree and, yes, her flavors are as unique of a mouthful as her name. In January 2020, subscribers received E3 Live Blue Green Algae & Pickled Heirloom Blueberry Biscotti. November 2020 saw a Preserved Lemons and Black Lime Cookie with White Chocolate Pearls.
Mystery Tackle Box Monthly Subscription
Mystery Tackle Box monthly subscriptions aren't just for fishermen who dig the thrill of reeling in a big one or getting bite after bite during a stellar day on the water. They're for fishermen who also dig the thrill of reeling in shiny new gear and adding lure after lure to their arsenal of rod ammo.
Each month Mystery Tackle Box subscribers will receive a shipment of lures, jigs, spinnerbait, terminal tackle, and soft plastics tailored to their choice of fish species.
Carnivore Club - Premium Artisanal Meats
It's the beginning of the month and the doorbell rings. First thought: Ugh, what fundraiser, salesperson, or kid selling peanut brittle for judo camp am I going to have to turn down this time? But then as I get closer to the door, I see the brown uniform. The UPS guy setting down a package. I don't remember ordering more butt-enhancing boxer briefs - what could it be?
I sign for the box, slice open the lid, and [Cue angels singing. Really, really loud!] holy chorizo and capocollo! It's meat!
My wife, She-Ra: Princess of Power gifted me a subscription to the Carnivore Club!
Monthly Knife Club
Whether you have just a passing interest in knives or are a full-on blade fanatic, Monthly Knife Club's 4 levels of monthly deliveries will surely level up your EDC, tactical, and box cutting games. Starting at just $10/month, the service is also one of the sharpest gifts you can give a deserving dude or lady.
SHTF Mystery Gear Box Club
SHTF curates boxes of survival and prepper gear so you don't want to have to constantly scour the web looking for the best stuff. Monthly subscription boxes start at $19.99, and include a new cache of survival gear guaranteed to retail for more than the price of the subscription delivered direct to your doorstep.