Review: Willow and Wild Box.

I love being asked to write reviews for products that I can use with my daughter and the new Willow and Wild box was no exception.

The Willow and Wild subscription box is all about nature inspired fun and learning for 3 to 8 year olds, and I was gifted one to try with Tiny.

Included in the box each month are:

• Materials for craft projects
• Vegetable and flower seeds
• Step by step planting & growing instruction cards
• Outdoor activity & inspiration guides
• Willow & Wild stories and activities
• Healthy eating recipe cards to cook what you have grown

The Box:

I was really impressed with the box. It looks attractive and it’s a really nice touch to be able to personalise the box with your child’s name so it’s special post just for them.

The Seeds and Recipe Cards:

This month’s box contained tomatoes, basil and Nasturtiums. I love this combination! Obviously tomatoes and basil go really well together as there’s lots of yummy things to make with them like the homemade tomato sauce recipe that is included!

HIowever, I didn’t realise that Nasturtiums help enhance the growth and flavour of tomatoes as well as protecting them from pests. There’s plenty of seeds included so we were able to sow some Nasturtiums separately as well as in with the tomatoes.

I love doing things like this with Tiny but left to my own devices I wouldn’t really know where to start. I really like the detailed instructions that an absolute novice (or a child) need!

The recipe cards are really well presented and super easy to follow. They’re also made from a nice shiny card so they’re durable and won’t get destroyed by whatever cooking mess your small humans might create!

I loved the tortilla pizza. We’ve decorated pitta bread and pizza bases before but not a tortilla so I was intrigued.

I have to say it was a massive hit. Tiny nommed it up. I think it’s much easier for little teeth than pitta or pizza bases. This will definitely be a regular lunch for us.

The Craft Activity:

This month’s craft activity was creating your own spoon bugs. The box came with everything you need to make two fun creepy crawlies. I love that the spoons are wooden rather than plastic. Tiny really enjoyed this activity and I was super impressed with her painting skills! The little pots of paint are ideal and the pots can be easily reused or recycled.

The Booklet:

The instructions for the craft project along with lots of other fun activities are contained in a lovely paper booklet. There’s even a pencil provided. Firstly there was bug identification. Tiny is pretty good on her animals and bugs in general but now we’ve added Crane Fly, Woodlouse, Earwig (shudder) and Grass Hopper to her vocabulary!

Tiny is a bit young for the Bug Detective Report but I think older children would really enjoy this and it gets them outside looking for bugs and thinking about them in more detail. She did, however, love going around the garden and the park using the little magnifying glass that is provided in the box.

There was also some fascinating facts about bees, worms, ladybirds and butterflies. Did you know that worms can live for up to 10 years?!?

And last but not least there was an opportunity to draw your favourite bug or insect. Here’s Tiny’s:

Any idea what her favourite bug might be?

It’s a spider! Apparently.

Overall thoughts:

I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to try the Willow and Wild box. I love nature, craft and cooking but I also need the impetus to try different things with Tiny. Talking about bugs and looking for them in the garden would never have been something I’d think of doing with her without inspiration and guidance.

The boxes are available from www.willowandwildbox.co.uk for between £10 and £12.99 a month depending on which subscription you sign up for.

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