The concept of these boxes is the same as the various pay per box schemes out there - you pay a set amount and get sent a box of 'stuff' in return. You don't know what you are going to get, but after seeing the various offerings on other blogs from Nonabox, I was really excited to get mine.
My first box was the December box, which didn't arrive until the end of the first week of January. I was so excited to open it, but when I did, I was so disappointed. It looked half empty, but inside was:
Ella's Kitchen puffits2 bottles of immune system boosterA pair of shortsA Cloud-b dream sheepA book
It doesn't sound too bad but....the shorts were boys shorts for age 6-9 months (Isabelle was 9 months at that time), the dream sheep is something I think is only suitable for newborns - hardly something you would introduce to a 9 month old surely? And the bottles of immune booster are not something I am ever likely to give her - an unknown brand of "medicine" is not going in to my child. Along with that, she gets plenty of vitamins in her diet, and we were recommended a brand of vitamins by my health visitor, which we bought (although admittedly don't use!) I emailed Nonabox about getting replacement shorts, which I did eventually receive (after an email, a Tweet and a snotty Facebook message). The replacement shorts were 12-18 months for girls, so perfect for this summer....but the quality is awful and I know they will never grace Isabelle's little bum. The puffits were a hit with her, so that's something.
So, not a great start, but I thought we'd give January a go and see how we got on. This box arrived in a more timely fashion, and I opened it with trepidation, expecting the worst. Inside this box we had...
Buggy hooksA 360 swivel spoonA Cloud-b lavender pillowA toothbrushBiodegradable nappiesA Nonabox shopping bag
A slightly better offering, and some of the things are pretty useful, so not so bad at all. However, I was interested to read about the biodegrable nappies (since we use cloth and I am interested in eco nappies) but when I turned them over...the information was all in Spanish! I believe that Nonabox is a Spanish company - but since I am in the UK it's not unreasonable to expect English instructions is it? Then, I thought I would check to see if the lavender pillow could go in the microwave. Picked up the label....it was all in French! Luckily, I read both languages (French is much better!) so was able to get the gist of it all, but I wasn't best pleased. What if you don't read either language, and want to know vital information? And seriously, a Nonabox shopping bag? That just screams "space filler!" to me - like they didn't have enough real products to fill the box so stuck that in instead. The buggy hooks, spoon and toothbrush will all get frequent use, but I do resent paying up was of £20 for three items.
Overall, I am suitably unimpressed with Nonabox, and would not recommend them to anyone. The products they include seem to be chosen at random, and are not well tailored for my child, despite the information they requested. I definitely don't think the boxes are worth paying £25 for, especially when they produce poor quality items like the shorts. I still have one box to go, and can't wait to get it - simply to get it over with. A total waste of my money, and a mistake I won't be making again.
