Girls Can! Crate

What's in the box: Each crate focuses on one inspiring woman and includes themed hands-on activities and projects tied to her story.

Girls Can! Crate is a monthly subscription built around female role models. Each crate features an inspiring woman and pairs her story with hands-on activities meant to get kids creating, building and talking. The company behind it, Big Little Ones LLC, presents the box as a way to start conversations between parents and daughters. That fits well: the activities draw kids in, and the real payoff is talking about what the featured woman achieved. The site has a clear deadline. You need to subscribe by the 15th of the month to get that month's crate. You can also buy it as a gift, and there is a separate shop for one-off purchases, a blog and an FAQ. Support is by email. New customers who join the mailing list are offered 15% off their first month, but that offer does not cover shop purchases or international shipping. Pricing is not shown up front, so check the subscribe page before you commit. One caution for this category: the activities and tone lean toward younger girls, roughly elementary school through the early tween years, so older teens may find it too simple. For a curious kid in that younger range, it is a thoughtful alternative to toy or snack boxes.