MyIrelandBox is a monthly subscription box that sends you a selection of unique Irish gifts, crafts, housewares, or beauty products straight from Ireland. Each month, you'll receive one or more items totaling at least $45.00.
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: MyIrelandBox
The Cost: $45.00 a month + shipping per month, 3-month prepay ($135, which accounts for $45/box + $31.50 shipping), or 6-month prepay ($247.50, which accounts for $41.25/box + $63 shipping).
ACTIVE DEAL: Get a bonus gift in your first 3- or 6-month subscription box! No coupon needed - just use this link.
Products: Irish-made gifts, crafts, housewares, and beauty products
Ships to: US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia, and Taiwan
Check out all our MyIrelandBox Reviews and the Women's Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
It's 2017! I always think it's interesting to see how subscriptions kick off a brand new year.
This box always includes a wealth of information about each month's products, including details about the makers, context for how the imagery and items represent Irish culture, and more.
All of this information brings the box to life for me. Plus, when you're paying so much for a subscription box, it's nice to know these backstories (I feel like they convey a little less obvious value).
Tea and Talk by Alice Taylor - Value $14.55 on Amazon (retail price $23.00)
The first item in the box is this hardcover novel by Irish author, Alice Taylor.
Book Summary on Amazon:
Relax with Alice, sit and chat over a cup of tea, as she invites you into her life. See an old press overflowing with the linen collection of two generations, the oil lamps and clocks inherited and collected over many years, and the books of people who once lived here. Alice tells you of the sad loss of her beautiful dogs Kate and Lolly, friends of the heart, and takes you around her village to meet her neighbours, join a meitheal to plant trees, and visit the fairy doors in the nearby wood. But Alice's home and community are not a perfect place: hear about the split in the local GAA club, blocked off rights of way, the donations of the local canine population on the footpaths! Visit a restored famine graveyard and hear about the landlords who once owned this village and the landmarks they left on the landscape and the people. This is life in a small Irish village in 2016, one hundred years after the Rising.
This book is perfect for cuddling up with on a cold, late-winter afternoon. Reading it really does feel like you've just sat down to gab with a good friend. I reminded me a bit of listening to that favorite relative of yours spinning yarns after a family dinner.
Sealed with Irish Love Mug - Value $10.52 USD
This ceramic mug features a design by an Irish artist in vivid emerald green.
There's a tiny shamrock near the lip, too!
In researching this item online, I found out that windows in Ireland once came at a premium (they were taxed at one time, so there were usually only 2 or 3 on the front of old cottages). How interesting!
I did notice on the info sheet that MyIrelandBox was including this design and one other (the "Signpost to Ireland" design by the same artist) in this month's boxes. So other subscribers may have received something slightly different.
Bog Standard Candle in Field, 2.65 oz. - Value $9.64
What better way to complement a day of reading and a cup of tea than a relaxing, fragrant candle?
This is one of Bog Standard's "mini" candles, which says it has a burn time of about 20 hours.
The candle comes with this pretty flowery paper on top. The scent is grassy, flowery, and fresh. Typically, I wouldn't burn a candle like this in winter (when I tend towards heartier, woodsy aromas), but I like the aspirational idea of welcoming the energy of a sun-kissed summer day into a gray, gloomy day!
Ursula Celano Magazine Bag - Value $21.24 USD
MyIrelandBox has featured Ursula Celano's products before, and I'm excited to see her designs back in the box!
According to the info sheet, this pattern captures the many boats and lighthouses dotting the waters off of Dublin. My family is Irish, and I've received many a traditional Irish gift before (green, covered in shamrocks, etc.). What I like about this item is how it reflects Irish culture in a more non-traditional, modern way. The colors and patterns are so bright and crisp.
Apart from being really cute, this bag is coated in plastic on the outside and lined on the inside (there's even a zip pocket). While I don't want to say it's 100% waterproof, my unofficial test (splashing some water on it in the kitchen sink) says that it's water-resistant, at the very least, haha!
Verdict: Not everything in this month's MyIrelandBox was quite my taste—the mug and the book were a bit more traditional than I'd usually look for, but the bag and the candle were spot on. As is with most subscription boxes, there's always a risk that the items you get won't be totally up your alley. That's a bigger risk with this box, given the $45.00 price tag. I will say that I found all of the items to be of nice quality, and the value I calculated was about $56.00. That's more than the cost of the box itself, but not counting shipping, which can be pricey.
What do you think of this MyIrelandBox? Were the items up your alley?
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