My Community Box (Hampton Roads) Winter 2014 Review + 25% Discount Code!

You might remember that I was quite hard on My Community Box after receiving their Fall box. (Re-visit that review here.) It's always easier (and more fun) to write glowing reviews but that one was definitely sub par. Things have improved somewhat with their Winter box which arrived this past week. The curation and value are still not there for a $30 box but they are headed in the right direction.

One thing that's nice to see in sub boxes at this time of year is some degree of festivity, whether that comes in the form of presentation or actual content. My Community Box did a great job of that, not only with a little Christmas decor but also with a couple of items that will be useful for New Year's Eve celebrations and beyond.

Here's what I saw when I opened the box.  I knew they'd gotten into the spirit!  What do you think is inside?

A cute green felt Christmas stocking with a Santa suit belt, of course!  

Here are the rest of the items in the box:

First are these two hand painted goblets.  The two I received are painted with swirls of white, pink and purple.  I couldn't find any information in the box about these glasses but after a little sleuthing on the site, it looks like they come from an Etsy vendor called Sweet Surrender Art in Virginia Beach, VA.  That's part of the Hampton Roads region which inspires this box...o.k., now I get it! These are pretty and I especially like the modified hourglass shape.

  

Next are two giant 9" peppermint sticks. I think these are just Dollar Tree items. They aren't something I would eat but I may pound them up and add them to cookies or desserts.

There are three funny handmade holiday greeting cards. The one in the front says "It didn't take Santa very long to find out who had eaten all the Christmas cookies." These are nicely made and come from another Etsy vendor called Eclectic Greetings, which has a lot of fun handmade greeting cards and other items.  Use code 5OFF20 to get $5 off a purchase of $20 or more in that store.

The last thing in the box was a pair of coffee packages from Tidewater Coffee in Portsmouth, VA. There isn't much information on these.  One is labeled Michael's Coffee Service and the other is labeled Flavored Gourmet Fresh Roasted Coffee in French Vanilla flavor.

I'm still on the fence about My Community Box. Two of the items in this box were dollar store items (stocking and candy cane sticks), two were completely generic (coffee packs) and two were handmade (goblets and greeting cards).  Handmade items are always welcome in sub boxes but the other items were pretty much filler. Having said that, I do appreciate the effort to add some seasonal flair.  But...this company is going to have to source more unique products and negotiate better quantity discounts if they plan to stick around. Just my opinion, of course!

The December box is still available if you're interested.  The quarterly My Community Box costs $30 but you can get 25% off a subscription by using code 757ForLife. I had some problems navigating the website but I think you can purchase just one box if you want to try them out.  

For now, I'll keep this one on my watch list.  My Community Box has a lot of room for improvement, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Cheryl

P.S.  I just noticed that My Community Box has disabled viewer comments on their Facebook page. That is not a good sign so proceed with caution.

Disclosure:  Views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own.  Product discussed in this post was purchased with my own money. Post may contain referral or affiliate links.