OMG she graduated! Ruby Crate’s Grad Crate for tweens and teens 🇨🇦

Someone said the last day of school is a bit anti-climactic when all you do is close your laptop but this year’s also marked the end of our daughter’s last year before high school (HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE??!!) so all the more reason to celebrate. Like a lot of kids, Lily was disappointed that we couldn’t do it up big with COVID but a certain delivery from Ruby Crate made her feel special all the same. The subscription box service for tweens and teens sent us one of their Grad Crates filled with products to pamper and celebrate and they did such a wonderful job with it, from the presentation to the products to the personal touches that customized each one. Here’s a look!

The Grad Crate is our second Ruby Crate, a follow-up to the Spring Crate you can see right here. An Ontario mom and her teen founded Ruby Crate last year.

Ruby Crate ships four times a year (March, June, September and December). One-year subscriptions are available or you can purchase each box individually and you can double the treasures in each box to share the surprise with a sibling or your bestie or whoever you like. (That’s the first time I’ve seen that option in a subscription box. I think it’s a great idea!)

The Grad Crate is a limited edition. They also have a birthday crate that can be shipped any time, ‘tho they do suggest ordering at least two weeks of the date you’d like it delivered.

Pricing (CAD; taxes and shipping additional):

• Year-long Ruby Crate — $219.80
• Year-long Double Ruby Crate — $439.60
• Single Ruby Crate (Summer) — $59.95
• Double Ruby Crate (Summer) — $109.90
• Grad Ruby Crate — $64.95
• Birthday Ruby Crate — $64.95

Ruby Crate currently ships across Canada and the US.

The Grad Crate opened with two cards, the first thanking recipients for being part of the Ruby Crate community and inviting them to share their box on social media, the second a handwritten greeting card from founders Heidi and Sienna congratulating Lily on her graduation. I love how Heidi and Sienna take the time to include personal notes in each box. Even a short message goes a long way to make you feel special and remind you that there’s a real mother/daughter team behind it. And both of us commented on the the Ruby Crate gem on the tassel of the cap on the second card. Such an adorable detail!

First up: A personalized tumbler by Cherish a Memory and a matching straw. Lily is always walking around with a water bottle or cup and absolutely loves this one. I can totally see her toting it in her backpack all through high school. Love the lettering!

Lily had several favourite items in the Grad Crate and this Class of 2021 keychain by Pink Petunia is absolutely one of them. She loves the engraving, the tassel and the silver finish. So all of it ha ha.

Often I’ll see something and think Lily would love it and then I’m way off base, ha ha. This is one of those cases. I totally thought she’d be all over this Follow Your Dreams sign (it would look great on her bulletin board alongside pictures of her friends!) but she said she probably won’t use it. She’s not a fan the gold.

Next, a 4.5-foot banner that says Congrats Grad. We hung this up in our front window on the last day of school (Lily thought it would be bad luck to put up before she actually graduated) and knowing us it’ll still be there when she graduates high school, ha ha. Looks so festive and saved us from making one!

Next, a bracelet by Avenue Zoe that snaps together and says She believed She could. I might steal it if Lily doesn’t wear it. Just love it!

Lily said this Makeup Palette by Mollie Jacob will be great for travelling and she likes that it comes with its own dual-ended brush.

Next, a sweet minty green nail polish by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. Non-toxic, vegan and cruelty-free, which we love. (Lily’s not wearing polish here but she loves switching it up.)

Lily and I have started using face masks together on the weekends so we’re always happy to add to our supply. Here we’ve got the Save Our Skin Restoring Mask with Royal Jelly from Facetory and a Foaming Salt Scrub from Bella & Bear. Lily loved the Bella & Bear products in Ruby Crate’s Spring box so she was delighted to see two more (this one and the one below).

And the Goddess Sugar Scrub by Bella & Bear. “A goddess needs to shine inside and out, now you can with sugar on top.”

Speaking of sugar, how sweet is this grad cookie from Rosie’s Kitchen Co.?

Next, a wee pack of red rose gummies by Squish. We’ve been Squish fans for years so very excited to see these!!

Lily toe-tally loves the Girl Boss socks by Amscan. I meant to mention she’s wearing her grad dress here. (Only fitting for this very special Grad unboxing!)

And last but not least, the cake toppers here that say Cheers! and Graduate, which we used on a delicious cookies and cream cake from a grocery store up the street. We’re saving these to use again.

My pics of the box as a whole don’t do the Ruby Grad Crate justice so here are a few other shots to wrap up instead:

Pretty amazing, right? Ruby Crate is the first lifestyle subscription box we’ve seen for teens and tweens and I think this one blew us away even more than the Spring one, which was also fabulous. The personalized tumbler and the grad-themed items are Lily’s favourites but honestly she was really, really happy with just about everything. And I knew this was coming, so it relieved some of the pressure I’d been feeling to come up with a special way to recognize the occasion and celebrate Lily’s success. Great job, Ruby Crate! Heidi and Sienna have said they’re focusing on girls for now but many people have asked them about creating Ruby Crates for boys as well so many that’s something we’ll see in the future.

Did you have any graduates at your house this year? How did you celebrate?

I received Ruby Crate’s Grad Crate in exchange for an honest review. This post also appears on A Year of Boxes.