'tis the season

These quirky subscription-based gifts will make every month feel like Christmas

By · Updated on January 26, 2024

Let’s face it. Nothing is more depressing than the day after Christmas. The day you’ve been waiting for has come and passed. Gone is the anticipation of presents unopened. That radio station that’s been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving is now playing some weird George Strait song. Sure, you probably still have your Christmas lights up, but something about them just doesn’t sparkle the way they did before.

If only you could recreate the magic of Christmas all the time…

Well, now you can, thanks to these 7 subscription-based gifts! Every month (or more if you like), you can recapture the wondrous feeling of opening presents by purchasing to one of these subscription boxes. But forget about wine or that one subscription that rhymes with yellow mesh. We’ve scoured the interwebs to find things that are a little more ahem, outside of the box…

For the one who loves the smell of new books

Book clubs are no longer just for bored housewives looking for an excuse to drink wine and talk sh*t about their husbands books. They are for the gays too! 

That’s the idea behind The Little Gay Book Club from The Little Gay Shop. The queer marketplace is based in Austin, TX and owned by husbands Kirt Reynolds & Justin Galicz. The shop’s mission is dedicated to “sourcing art, books, apparel, and more from exclusively LGBTQIA+ identifying artists and makers.”

But back to the books: The Little Gay Book Club is an all-inclusive, queer-centric book club, where each month, the club picks a different LGBTQ+ book for members to read and then they talk about it, either in-person or virtually (TBD on if there is wine).

The club offers four tiers of membership options depending on your interest and resources – including a $50 “Bookslut” membership where they will send you each month’s book for free – in addition to a ton of other goodies. 

What’s sexier than a gay who reads?! Subscribe via The Little Gay Book Club; memberships vary between $3-$50 per month.

For the sweet tooth who thinks candy isn’t enough

Salt & Straw is a super-inclusive Portland, OR based ice cream shop specializing in small-batch, chef-driven ice cream, all made using local ingredients. They have a Pints Club, where every month, they will send you five pints of the good stuff, including “flavors that tell a story, whether it be a study of berries in July, or holiday classics in December.” 

And these aren’t just any ol’ flavors. A sampling of their holiday flavors include Dwanta’s Teremana Spiked Eggnog, Gingerbread Cookie Dough, Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache, and Peppermint Cocoa.

The shop offers 3, 6 and 12-month subscriptions, including a vegan option. Subscribe via Salt & Straw; prices vary.

For the one who knows all the words to Hamilton

Broadway Book Club is perfect for the theater nerd who’s always looking to hit up a show while in NYC (Scientifically speaking, we all have at least one of these people in our lives, and we love them!).

Every quarter, Broadway Book Club (or BBC for short, tehe) will ship 7 play scripts right to your door, curated by leading playwrights like Lauren Gunderson, Anna Ziegler, and Lucas Hnath (I personally don’t know who these people are, but they sound important AF).

Each box promises “the best of the American theater, from 1936 into 2022 and beyond.” As an added bonus, you can be as loud as you want with your candy wrappers while reading each script!

Subscribe via Broadway Book Club, subscriptions start at 57.99 per quarter.

For the iced coffee addict

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Iced coffee is the reason the LGBTQ+ community exists today. Just kidding. Maybe. 

Anyway! The absolute f*cking masterminds at Cometeer have changed the iced coffee game as we know it. Whereas most iced coffee requires 8-12 hours to make (assuming you don’t want it to taste like actual garbage), Cometeer offers flash-frozen, “melt-to-make” coffee pods that allows gays everywhere to make iced coffee in – wait for it – a flash. 

When ready to use, simply run one of these pods under some hot water until melted (or thaw in the fridge overnight), pour it in a glass with some water and ice and then, bam! You are ready to rock the day. 

Cometeer offers 1, 2 and 4-week subscriptions. Subscribe via Cometeer, prices start at $64 per month.

For the bartender-in-training

OK, let’s be real: we’ve seen enough wine subscription boxes to last us a lifetime. It’s time for cocktails, aka wine’s messier cousin, to have their moment in the spotlight! 

Cocktail Courier will turn you into the bartender you always dreamed of becoming (oh, that was just me?). 

All you have to do is fill out a profile, telling them your favorite spirits, and they’ll send you all the ingredients you need, along with recipes. Each kit comes with enough supplies to make 6-8 cocktails. To boot, you can select kits with or without alcohol, just in case you still have that bottle of gin in your freezer you’ve been meaning to use since last Christmas (also just me? Damn!).

Subscribe via Cocktail Courier; kits run $29.99- $49.99 with customizable frequency.

For the one who’s ready to rock

Did you hear? Just like Lindsay Lohan, vinyl records are making a comeback!

What better way to mark the occasion than a monthly vinyl subscription? Enter VNYL, a snazzy-looking subscription service that will send you up to three brand new records every month.

But don’t worry; these aren’t the kind of records you’d find in the bargain bin at Goodwill. These are curated just for you, based on your music taste. Case in point: once you set up a profile and tell them about your fave artists, VNYL allows you to then connect your Spotify, Soundcloud, and Discogs accounts so the mad geniuses picking out your records can better select ones you’re more likely to f*ck groove to. WE ALL WIN. 

Subscribe via VNYL, subscriptions start at $14.99 per month.

For the candle connoisseur

Everyone needs a good f*ck candle. You know, that thing you light before getting down to business.

Fortunately, the fine folks at That Gay Guy Candle Co. are here to deliver in spades.

Found in 2020, That Gay Guy Candle Co. is committed to “to promoting visibility and inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community, and celebrating diversity and condemning bigotry and intolerance.” They offer a “Scent of the Month” subscription box where you can receive a new candle every 30 days.

You could also buy scents like Lemon Pound Cake, Lush Linen, and Oakmoss & Amber. Or make a statement with one of their punchy “Say It Collection” candles that say things like, “F*ck Lauren Boebert,” “I Survived the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster Queue,” or “Grab Me By the Throat.”

Plus, 5% of all sales each month go to a different organization working to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

So, light those candles and get f*cking! Subscribe via That Gay Guy Candle Company, $24.30 per month.

Happy holigays from all of us at Queerty!

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