My two kids love to travel, and I try to bring them along on trips as much as I can. Of course, traveling with kids has its share of difficulties, and it’s just not possible for us to do it together as often as we’d like. Still, exposing kids to the world and its cultures is important to me, and, in my opinion, integral to teaching them the importance of respecting and appreciating people from different backgrounds. Not to mention, it’s fun!
How Little Passports subscriptions work
Instead of always hopping on a plane with my kids, I decided to try a monthly subscription box. There are loads of them available these days, some focused on specific things, while others are more general. The Little Passports boxes focus on geography, culture, science, and art through a lens of celebrating the world.
The monthly subscription boxes are targeted by age (starting at 3 and going up to 10), with themed options such as animals, food, crafting, science, and geography/world travel. For my two-and-a-half-year-old, I ordered Animals Wild and Early Explorers, while my eight-year-old tried World Adventures and Kitchen Adventures.
Prices range from $18 to $29 a month (shipping included), depending on the kit and whether you sign up for 1, 6, or 12 months. Given how much is included in each box and how long they kept my kids entertained, these are well worth the price.
Kids can explore the world in their own family’s kitchen.
Courtesy of Little Passports/Cinch PR
What comes in the boxes
Early Explorers (for kids aged 3–5) and World Adventures (for kids aged 6–10) are both geography/travel-themed boxes, just designed for different age ranges. The first delivery comes with an endearing toy suitcase to keep everything in one place, a luggage tag, a passport they can stamp and put stickers in, and a world map to track travels. There’s also a welcome letter from fictional characters who return for each box edition.
Early Explorers also comes with an adorable pop-out play set, a puzzle, and an activity booklet with stickers, games, and facts. The first edition doesn’t focus on a specific country; instead, it shares activities and information about the seven continents and a selection of such well-known destinations as the Himalayas and Paris. It’s worth noting that kids at the lower end of this age range will definitely need assistance, but five-year-olds may be able to complete most activities on their own. Overall, my younger son enjoyed scribbling in the activity book and putting the stickers on his map and suitcase. He seemed interested in the facts I read about the continents too, and delighted in dragging around his luggage.
Each edition of World Adventures focuses on a different country. The first one featured was Brazil. I was impressed with how much was packed into this kit: a replica of a real Brazilian coin and a display board for storing coins from each country featured in the boxes, an original chapter book, and a project to create a souvenir (in this case, a mobile in the shape of a scarlet macaw). My older son is a collector, so the coins and passport stamps were perfect—and the craft project kept him busy for a good 45 minutes. The best part was that he devoured the book, saying it was fun and interesting. He also kept spouting random facts about Brazil, a country we haven’t been to yet and one he now wants to visit. I was thrilled that he actually learned things, was entertained, and read a whole book.
Another category, Animals Wild (for kids aged 4–6), is all about discovering wildlife from different regions. Each delivery features a pop-out cardboard play set with animal figures and a background filled with fun facts, plus an interactive game. The first one is about the Amazon, while subsequent boxes cover the Serengeti, European woodlands, and the Australian Outback. This kit kept my toddler super engaged, and he has gone back to play with the figures several times. While he definitely needed adult supervision, it’s worth the effort because he did learn some facts and enjoyed playing the game, which was easy enough for him to understand.
The final kit category we tried was from the Kitchen Adventures line (for kids aged 7 and up). What I liked about this one was that it wasn’t just about the recipes: It also included a separate shopping list for ingredients, a kid-friendly utensil needed for the recipes, and facts and history about each dish. Our kit was for Rome, with recipes for two pastas, a semifreddo, and a pizza (each with a different difficulty level). Directions were clear, and we learned how amatriciana and cacio e pepe became classic Roman dishes. My son and I successfully made a tasty cacio e pepe for dinner one night, without any difficulty. The one downside of this kit was the project. My son got very frustrated putting together what seemed like a cool marble maze, but due to poor quality, didn’t function well.
Is Little Passports worth the money?
Overall, Little Passports offers a variety of boxes tied to travel and exploration that are educational, yet manage to keep kids interested—no small task. Kids love collecting things, whether they’re objects or stamps, and these kits do a great job of giving children ways to track their items and achievements. Plus, receiving a new box every month helps kids stay excited. I feel like I got my money’s worth, as each kit is filled with multiple goodies. Though the instructions and quality of some of the projects could be better, in the end there was enough in each box that that didn’t matter much.