Initial impressions: Winter Favorites Cravebox - December 2012

Today I received my Winter Favorites Cravebox. For those that follow my blog, you will know that Cravebox is subscription service that is intended to introduce its users to new products or rediscover companies that have changed their product offerings. The two prior Craveboxes were the Coffee Lovers, which was nice, and the Holiday Spruce Up, which was disappointing, but to Cravebox's credit they issued a full refund for that. So I had high hopes for the Winter Favorites box because I could envision wonderful food items, but possibly also some items to decorate the house or bring a festive mood to the subscriber.

The box did not disappoint. I was extremely happy with the contents. The coupons included were not the $off kind from the Spruce Up box, but coupons for free items so that the subscriber of Cravebox just needs to go to the store and pick up the item. All items included were right on theme, a festive holiday in terms of meals and mood. I am glad, this Cravebox is the in line with prior Craveboxes and the reason that I fell in love with subscription services. Even though some of the companies are well known, such as Pillsbury, they offer coupons for products that I either have not tried or that I can use in preparing new items. They also include samples from companies that I may have heard of or that are totally new to me. So the mix is just right between brand new and old favorites with a twist.

Below is the image of the content. You can see the box was really filled with items and what a variety!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Winter Favorites Cravebox, so many good and useful items - Love it!

Below is a video during the unpacking of the Cravebox. It is fairly long, in part because one of the envelopes with actually glued shut and took me some time to open. But you get a good look at the items included and my initial impressions of the box and its contents. Some items I am very excited about trying, even though it is hard to make a choice with this box. One of the standout items is the Green Tea Sage Vitabath sample. Vitabath is a new company for me. I have heard of them, but never tried them. and I love everything green tea, including my green tea toothpaste. So getting shower lotion with green tea is a nice surprise and will definitely make me feel spoiled.

Another item that I love is the Pillsbury pie crust coupon. I love baking, but making your own pie crust is time consuming and so I often use ready pie crusts and occasionally splurge on refrigerated pie crust. Getting a coupon for Pillsbury pie crust is a wonderful treat and I can now focus on what pie I want to make. I am thinking about a lemon chess pie or shoofly pie. Something more unusual for the holiday dinner other than my standard pumpkin or fruit pie.

 I am also happy to see the coupons from International Delight, but what really caught my attention was the recipe card included because it uses the ID creamer with salted caramel mocha flavor. I am right now on a salted caramel mission or wave (whatever you want to call it) since I received a Torani syrup with that flavor and I love the mix of salt and sweet. So finding out the ID has salted caramel flavored creamer is nice to know and I may actually end up buying the creamer just to use in baking.

So here is the video with my initial impressions. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I received the items in the Cravebox for a reduced rate through the Cravebox subscription service. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by Cravebox or any third party.