Crated with Love is a subscription box service that mails you a monthly date night at home. It was started by a real life couple who still handcrafts each date and activity and tries them out themselves. The boxes include items based on a theme, plus activity cards and each one is sponsored by a partner company that shares a bit of their story with you.
Past themes have included picnic dates, movie nights, scavenger hunts and a "puzzles and pasta" night. I tried out the "Love Heals" box. Here’s what was inside.
This is the box everything came in. It’s bright and cheerful with their logo front and center. The inside was padded and everything arrived intact.
The first items in the box were Love Heals notecards, the activity cards and a magnetic clip with the Crated Love logo. The box was hosted by Thistle Farms out of Nashville, Tennessee. They are an organization that supports victims of abuse and prostitution by offering them classes and a safe place to transition. The notecards in this box were made by these women. It’s nice that Crated with Love buys from places like this.
The clip was just a bonus item, but the notecards were part of activity challenge two. In this challenge, you and your partner write five things you do for each other when you don’t feel your best. After you make your lists, you share with each other and then keep the notes in a special place. The object is that by writing how you strengthen each other; you prove that love heals.
Challenge one lists the five love languages like words of affirmation, acts of service and physical touch, among others. You choose which language you think you use to communicate with your partner and which one you think they use to communicate with you. Then you discuss and see if your ideas match. There’s even a code to scan that takes you to a love languages test.
My fiancé and I enjoyed both of these activities. It really made us think about how we take care of each other on a daily basis, bringing us closer together.
Challenge three used these Popsicle sticks and craft glue and there was a bonus Popsicle stick craft included as well. You and your partner pick something to build out of the sticks and complete it together. The idea is to develop your conflict resolution skills and communicate efficiently. Mike and I built a little box to hold reminders from dates like ticket stubs and other little trinkets.
While it doesn’t seem like much, we actually had a lot of fun putting it together. Mike likes making things with his hands, so this part of the date was right up his alley. The bonus project was an American flag. Mike has always liked decorating with flags, so we put this together as well. The little sticky foam pieces that were supposed to hold the string for hanging didn’t work very well, but we improvised and it now has a place of honor in our living room.
Challenge four made use of this beach ball, which came deflated. This challenge was a game. You stand 10 to 15 feet away from your partner and pass the inflated ball back and forth in the air. Whenever the ball hits the floor, the person it was being passed to loses a limb and can’t use it for the rest of the game. Whoever has one limb left at the end of the game is the winner.
According to the card, this activity helps release endorphin and other “good feeling” brain chemicals to put you in a good mood. However, the game was a lot harder than it looked and went by really fast. The card suggests playing a best 2 out of 3, but we got frustrated and stopped after the first round. It may be because we had to play inside due to inclement weather, although outside wind would be a factor, so I’m not sure if that would have been better.
Overall, the box was fun. Although the activities may seem somewhat childish, they really did make us work together and we enjoyed the verbal challenges as well.
Crated with Love costs only $19.99 per month with free shipping, which is cheaper than every other date box I’ve seen on the market. While the items don’t seem like much, they were high quality. The glue was quick drying, the beach ball is sturdy and the challenge cards are thick and laminated. If you’re looking for a date night in at a lower price point, this is a good way to go.
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