12 Local Subscriptions For The Lazy Gift-Giver
Nine + Roxy’s Mug + Muse ClubPhoto courtesy Nine and Roxy
A “gift that keeps on giving” has become a cliché, but they do exist. A box of goodies arriving on someone’s doorstep a few weeks after the holidays is appreciated anew. And signing someone up for a subscription is last-minute-friendly for the gift-giver, too. Print the confirmation email and pair it with a related, more wrappable gift, or load the PDF on a flash drive and wrap that. Here are 12 subscriptions from Indianapolis businesses:
Coffee: Indy Coffee Box, indycoffeebox.com
Starting at: $17/month
For the cost of four lattes, you can give someone a cup of high-quality coffee every weekday through the Indy Coffee Box subscription. The entry-level cost is for one 12-ounce bag of whole beans, which is enough for 22 cups. The service delivers a rotation of the best Indianapolis coffee roasters and can be cancelled at any time. Gift it with a burr coffee grinder.
Coffee and Cups: Mug + Muse Club, nineandroxy.com
Starting at: $75/three months
This coffee subscription through Carmel mercantile Nine + Roxy includes a mug with each monthly delivery of Smalltown coffee beans. The mugs are cool modern designs, like everything in the boutique. It’s perfect for a new grad in the process of stocking a first apartment.
Facials: Bohemé Skin Membership, mermarche.com
Starting at: $75/month
Carmel clean-beauty salon MerMarché offers eight premium facials. The subscription represents a discount on one treatment each month (choose any of them) and also includes 20 percent off other treatments at any time, as well as a Clean Sweep Consultation of one’s makeup and skincare products for the purpose of learning about green alternatives. Gift it with Among the Flowers plant-based lip and cheek tint ($10), sold at the salon.
Travel: Elevate Travel Club Membership, elevatetravelco.com
Starting at: $50/year (on sale)
Sarah Reuter, a veteran of Indy’s Ambassadair Travel Club and Bottom Line Travel Solutions, started a new travel group this year—but the pandemic put the kibosh on globetrotting for a while. So she put together bespoke virtual tours instead. This month, a group “went” on safari with New World Safaris and toured Johannesburg and Cape Town with a local guide who was live on Zoom with his camera phone, starting at the airport. It worked out so well, the guide invited them to stick around as the sun set and head back out to see the animals at night. Reuter has five more exclusive adventures planned, with Patagonia next, and at the end of each, a participant’s name will be drawn to receive a free trip to that location. They’re all included in the annual $99 membership, which is buy-one-get-one-free right now.
Hard Cider: Cider of the Month Membership, ashandelm.com
Starting at: $25/quarter
Local cidery Ash and Elm releases a special flavor each month (maple orange, blueberry lavender, and mango lassi are the next three on deck). All are included in a quarterly eight-pack either delivered or reserved for pickup at the eastside tasting room. Subscriptions also include some merch.
Houseplants: The Forest Flower Plant Subscription, shop.theforestflower.com
Starting at: $30/three months
Plant parenthood is a thing now—or at least that’s what the kids call it. The Forest Flower reserves one new 4” child (well, a potted specimen) each month. Recipients can pick it up and save 25 percent on a planter at the same time, too. Choose from Easy Care or Succulent/Cacti plans, and gift it with a pretty planter filled with a garden spade, gloves, and a bag of good plant food.
Witchcraft: Æther Box, earlykind.com
Starting at: $30/three months
SoBro shop Early Kind offers its version of a Birch Box, but with a natural/spiritual/ritual bent. For the modern earth mother (or father), it’s like a cookie jar of vegan and cruelty-free skincare products, crystals and stones, house-cleansing herbs, and more, always delivered around the equinox or solstice.
Cake: Sahm’s Coffee Cake Club, shopsahms.com
Starting at: $35/month for 12 months
Remember Sahm’s coffee cake, from the days when we dined carefree at restaurants? The local institution now delivers a two-pound flavor of the month for a year (right now, figgy pudding with candied oranges and a Big Lug stout glaze). You can be pretty sure your recipient doesn’t already have this because the club just launched this month.
Natural Wine: King Dough Wine Membership, kingdoughpizza.com
Starting at: $40/month plus $50 signup fee
King Dough pizzerias have been serving natural wine for several years. That’s wine made with native yeasts, no additives, and minimal sulfur. The wine club delivers bottles to your door (two, four, or six per month, no judgment) and includes virtual tastings and talks with winemakers. Gift it with new glassware or a wine-humor tchotchke.
Flowers: Lilly Lane Home Club, lillylane.com
Starting at: $55/month
Fresh flowers brighten up gray winter days. Broad Ripple florist Lilly Lane offers monthly delivery of professional arrangements to Midtown and northside areas, starting with once a month for three months. More frequent options are available.
Books: Wild Geese Subscription Box, wildgeesebookshop.com
Starting at: $35/month
Kids love to receive mail. With this subscription from the Franklin bookseller Wild Geese, he or she will get a box each month with a new-release book and a book-related gift. There are adult options, too, in such genres as thriller, mystery, memoir, romance, and more. For kids, options start at board and picture books and go up to young adult reading level.
Magazines: Indianapolis Monthly, indianapolismonthly.com
Starting at: 50 cents per month
At 24 issues for $12, can you blame us for making a shameless plug?
