How to Make Your Own Subscription Box Gift

Subscription boxes are a popular gift idea right now. But they can be pricey. Learn how to make your own and keep the joy of giving all year long!

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I love the idea of subscription boxes: every month, a new box of surprises is delivered right to your door. It’s so exciting and fun, and it’s like getting a present every month.

We’ve done a couple of subscription boxes in our house. My husband got me the Loot Crate Harry Potter box for a year, which I loved! I would love to still be getting it, but it gets expensive! And I got my husband the Board Game Bento Box, which was really cool, because he got 3 new (high quality and fun) board/card games every month.

This year for Christmas, I wanted to get my husband another subscription box. But I couldn’t find anything I liked for a price I liked ($60 for 3 vials of whiskey?? Uh…no.). Then it occurred to me: I could create my own. Here’s how I did it.

Choose a theme and come up with a name.

My husband likes the idea of the snacks from around the world, so I went with a ‘countries’ theme. Each box would feature food and things from a certain country/region or state. I called it ‘Around the World in 6 Months.’ Not super creative, but it’ll do.

Other themes could be: Clothes (feature a different item every month – socks, pants, ties, etc); Games (fill the box with board games, card games, video games, or game memorabilia); Date Nights; Beer of the Month/Beers of the World.

Decide how many boxes and how often you want them to be ‘delivered.’

I wanted this to be a 6 month thing, and I wanted my husband to be able to open one every month, so I needed 6 boxes.

You could do a year of 12 boxes, bi-monthly for a year, or even bi-monthly for 6 months. It’s up to you!

Plan how to fill your boxes.

Are you setting a price limit for each box? Or you can do a certain number of items in each box.

I decided to go with a certain number of items. I wanted 1 bottle (beer/drink/sauce), 1 salty snack, 1 sweet snack, 1 recipe with dinner plan, and 1 fun item. So each of my boxes was going to have 5 items.

Choose your sub-theme for each box.

You’ve got your large overall theme; now you need a sub-theme for each individual box. My 6 sub-themes were:

December: Germany

January: Scotland

February: Thailand

March: Mexico

April: Alaska

May: Australia

Shop for your items.

Google and Pinterest were huge helps when I was trying to search for snacks and recipes from each country. I’m sure Amazon is also a helpful place to get things to fill your boxes.

The best place for finding international foods if you’re doing a food theme is defeintely CostPlus World Market. If you’re lucky enough to live close to one, visit it! Otherwise, check it out online and order everything you need.

Fill your boxes and get them ready for gifting.

I filled my boxes, and added an information card in each one to explain the items. I also made a ratings card so my husband could keep track of items that he really liked and would consider purchasing again. I filled each box with tissue paper to cushion the items and arranged them so they looked pretty.

Then I wrapped each box and dated them on the outside. That way, my husband would know which one he was supposed to open each month.

The December one went under the tree and the rest went in the closet for the coming months.

Another fun touch is to add an alarm to his calendar for the 25th of each month, so he knows his box is getting ‘delivered’ that day.

Why this is sooo much better than paying for fancy subscription boxes:

It’s cheaper – I set the price limit and I could shop for things on sale.

It’s tailored exactly to my husband – I know what he really wouldn’t like, so those things don’t end up in his box.

It’s made by you – the time and effort you put into this gift makes it so much more special. You’re not just filling in an order form and waiting for someone else to do the rest.

I think this may become a yearly tradition for my husband’s gifts. It lets him try all sorts of new things he otherwise wouldn’t, and it keeps the fun of gifting throughout the year. I love being able to surprise him for an entire 6 months.

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