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13 subscription services that make great gifts for college grads
13 subscription services that make great gifts for college grads
Remi RosmarinApr 13, 2019, 01:03 IST
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With so many subscription boxes and services out there, there's something to fit all tastes, budgets, and lifestyles. The personalization and immersive experience of subscriptions is what makes them such great gifts. If you're shopping for a gift for a recent grad, consider getting them a subscription service. It's a gift that keeps on giving.
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Choose something they really need to help their transition to the real world, or treat them to a fun splurge they're unlikely to buy to for themselves. Whatever you chose, we're sure your recent grad will love any of the ideas below.
Keep reading for 13 subscription boxes and services that make great gifts for recent grads.
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Best for: The dining-hall frequenter turned aspiring home cook.
They'll get: a gift card to put towards Blue Apron's meal kit deliveries. How many boxes they'll get depends on the amount of your gift card. After perusing the site, they can choose the meals they'd like to get delivered. The kits come full of fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes for all kinds of simple, but creative meals like Chicago-inspired Italian beef sandwiches and miso ramen with soft-boiled eggs.
It costs: $47.95 a week (for two-person meal plan with two recipes).
Best for: The busy grad who still wants to stay healthy.
They'll get: a box filled with pre-portioned cups of healthy meals like smoothies, soups, chia pudding, and oat bowls, delivered to their door each week or once a month. Daily Harvest cups are almost ready to go — all they have to do is heat, blend, or soak. Then, when their meal is ready, they can pour right back into the original cup for portable snacking. Daily Harvest's cups are filled with unique, nutritious ingredients they may not be likely to buy on their own, like dragon fruit, lychee, and Blue Majik, so they can eat healthily while expanding their palate.
Best for: The recent grad with carnivorous cravings.
They'll get: a curated box filled with a month's worth of high-quality meats delivered right to their door. ButcherBox's cuts are humanely raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free, and boast an all-around quality they can taste. Choose one of ButcherBox's boxes that's curated with a new selection of meats each month, or opt to customize a box for them. Since it's a monthly service, you can choose to keep sending them boxes for as long, or short, as you'd like.
It costs: $129 a month for curated boxes, $149 a month for custom boxes.
They'll get: four new bottles of wine to try each month, delivered right to their door. They can choose all reds, whites, or a combination of both. A simple questionnaire will clue the Winc team into their palate preferences, which Winc then uses to curate their wine selection each month.
Wine is a pretty classic gift, but this is a more fun way to help them try new blends they're likely to love. A Winc gift card will help them get started with the service. Monthly pricing differs based on what bottles fill each box, but a $60 gift card should be enough to get them at least one month of wines.
It costs: Bottles start at $13, monthly pricing differs based on bottles chosen.
Best for: The graduate with adventurous taste buds.
They'll get: a monthly box of four to five munchies from indie food producers around the United States. Mouth sources some of the best handmade, small-batch, and delicious snacks that any foodie will love to try. They can expect unique, flavorful treats like stove-popped black truffle popcorn, spicy ginger and fennel pickles, and maple bacon lollipops. You can prepay for a few months of their subscription (starting at $180 for three months, though price per box decreases the more months you commit to), or give them a gift card (from $25 - $500) and let them explore all the delicious options themselves.
Best for: The grad who is really going to miss class readings.
They'll get: a new hardcover book delivered to their door each month. Book of the Month has a long history of recommending the best reads — it was founded in NYC in 1926 and has been helping avid readers find the best books ever since. The subscription service is a relatively new feature of the brand, but it's already become very popular among bookworms. Each month, Book of the Month curates five great new books — subscribers get to choose which book they'd like from the selection each month. Gift them either three, six, or 12 months of great reads to come with a prepaid subscription.
It costs: $44.99 for three months, $79.99 for six months, or $149.99 for 12 months.
Best for: The low-maintenance shopper whose wardrobe needs a real world update.
They'll get: a box with five new pieces of clothing, curated by a personal stylist to match their tastes. Stitch Fix users start the process with a Style Profile questionnaire, which includes their measurements, preferred styles and fits, budget, and other thoughts about the experience they're looking for. They'll be paired with a stylist who handpicks their pieces, so they can get a great shopping experience without ever having to step into a store. They can always send back items they don't love and Stitch Fix is very flexible, so they can commit to using it every month or just once in a while when they need a refresh.
It costs: Pieces range from $25 to $500, and they'll only pay for they actually keep.
Best for: The grad whose caffeine habit has no signs of stopping.
They'll get: a bag of single-origin, sustainably farmed, and really delicious coffee beans sourced from all over the world. Each delivery is more than just a bag of beans: They'll get brewing information, a postcard from the country of origin, tasting notes, and packaging influenced by the landscapes and textiles of the region. It's an immersive experience that'll make their morning cup of joe a little more exciting, especially if they want more than a regular Starbucks drip.
It costs: $60 for three months, $109 for six months, or $199 for 12 months.
Check out our full review of Atlas Coffee Club here.
They'll get: access to thousands of movies and tv shows, with limited ads or no ads at all. From old hit movies to popular original shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu has a huge selection worth binge-watching. Give them a Hulu gift card so they can sign up for their own subscription, which starts as low as $5.99 a month.
It costs: $5.99 a month for limited ads, $11.99 a month for no ads, $44.99 a month for Hulu + Live TV.
They'll get: free two-day shipping on over 100 million items, access to free movies and shows on Prime Video, exclusive deals, and many other free perks included with the service. As they set out into the real world, arm them with an ultra-convenient Amazon Prime membership. You can choose to gift a three-month subscription or a whole year. At under $10 a month, it's a great value for a great service. If they already have a Prime subscription, your gift will convert into a usable gift card for them to buy anything they want or need on Amazon.
It costs: $39 for three months or $119 for 12 months.
They'll get: access to some of the best non-fiction books out there curated by four of the world's leading thinkers, including Malcolm Gladwell. Just because they're no longer in the classroom everyday doesn't mean they can't learn some challenging ideas on their own. With Next Big Idea club, every three months they'll get two handpicked titles sent to their doorstep, along with exclusive e-courses, interactive exercises, and learning materials to help them delve even further into this unique content. Get them a subscription for just a season, two seasons, or a whole year. And, for every subscription, Next Big Idea Club donates two books to The Future Project, a non-profit that supports under-resourced schools.
It costs: $69 for one season, $138 for two seasons, $249 for a year.
Read our full review of the Next Big Idea Club here.
Best for: The recent grad who wants to keep learning.
They'll get: video lessons on a wide range of subjects led by experts in their respective fields. Lessons include additional resources like workbooks to keep them on track, and they can even ask questions in office hours which may be answered by the expert teacher themselves. You can gift them one class, which they'll get lifetime access to, or give them a year of unlimited access to every course on the site. Courses range from academics to athletics to cooking and everything in between. Some standout courses include cooking basics with Gordon Ramsey, comedy with Judd Apatow, space exploration with Chris Hadfield, and tennis with Serena Williams.
It costs: $90 for a single class or $180 for a year of unlimited access to all classes.
Best for: The grad with a taste for the finer things.
They'll get: a monthly box full of unique luxury items like fine spirits, handmade leather goods, and high-quality snacks, among other goods. Each month has a loose theme that ties all of the products together, like "melted romance," "basking in the sun," and "en fuego." While these premium products may seem pricey, they're actually a great value — Robb Vices has preferred pricing on many high-end products. If they have a penchant for premium, they'll love the excitement of receiving a box of luxury surprises each month.
It costs: $389.85 for the months (three boxes), $659.70 for 12 months (six boxes), $1190.40 for 12 months (12 boxes).
