Celebrate States Review August 2021

Celebrate a new state, support small/family owned businesses from coast to coast and feel like you’ve just come back from vacation with cherished souvenirs every month with Celebrate States subscription box. Featuring 6-7 full size high quality U.S. sourced products – they kindly sent us this box for review.

While I usually visit the U.S. a few times a year, it is usually only to states that are near the U.S./Canadian border. My family can then explore new cities and try new things that we may not have in Canada and be back to work by Monday. So imagine how trilled I was to open this month’s Celebrate States subscription box and find that it was celebrating the great state of Texas!

Subscription Details

Celebrate States has 3 subscription options to choose from:

Monthly Pay Subscription:

• $45 per month
• Cancel anytime

Three-Month Subscription:

• 50% off first box
• Sign up for 3 months and receive the first box for only $22.50
• $45.00 per month thereafter

Six-Month Subscription:

• 50% off first box
• Sign up for 6 months and receive the first box for only $22.50
• $39.00 per month thereafter.

Let’s take a look inside!

The box opened to a handwritten note from Celebrate States where they thank me for the review. I appreciate the personal touch and was excited to dig into the box!

After the note were three visitor guide travel brochures. One for the Amarillo, Georgetown and Fredericksburg. I’ll be honest, I took a quick glance at them and put them to the side. I could see some lovely goodies underneath the pamphlets and couldn’t wait to dig into the rest of the box. I thought these visitor guides were a nice touch to build a deeper connection to the places within Texas.

Color Our Town – Coloring Postcards (Texas)

“History with an artistic flair”

In a recent past box from Celebrate States, I found that coloring a book of postcard during my child’s nap time to be a cathartic and relaxing experience. However, this month when I pulled out a coloring book again, I did have a feeling of “oh another coloring book”. But, after a flip through it did have some fun looking pages and provided some great local details, plus coloring books never expire!

Atkinson Candy Company – Chick-O-Stick & Slo Poke (Lufkin, TX)

“We are proud to make real candy that’s really good!”

I cannot describe how badly I wanted to rip open these candy bars and eat them immediately. I feel as if I have tried every type of candy in Canada and to have the opportunity to snack on one that I’ve never tried, let alone even heard of before, would have been such a delight! The Chick-O-Stick is a crunchy peanut butter rolled in toasted coconut and the Slo Poke is a chewy caramel candy. Unfortunately, we have a peanut allergy in the home so they’ll have to be given away… or maybe I might break these out the next time my husband is out of town.

ATX Hot Sauce – The Big Red (Austin, TX)

“A Great All-around Red Chile Condiment. THE Big Red! Spicy and VERY flavorful!! This is a must try!”

When I originally pulled this out of the box I said “Oh no!”, because I am not a spice person. Sometimes pepper even is too much! But after reading the bottle it states that it is a flavorful but a mild hot sauce. So I gave it a try on my scrambled eggs and hash browns the next morning and it was amazing! Great bit of Texas heat wrapped up in a bow!

Fredericksburg Farms – Longhorn Dip (Fredericksburg, TX)

“Use our dips to make salad fun, jazz up weekday lunches, or delight your guests at events from holiday gatherings to tailgating to barbecues.”

In the summer my husband and I love to eat veggies from our garden – but I won’t lie, eating raw carrots with ranch does get boring after a while. So when I saw this dip seasoning that may add some flavor to our backyard produce – you best believe I made sure we had all the ingredients to make a yummy vegetable dip! All you need is to mix up 3 tbsp of unflavored greek yogurt, 3 tbsps of sour cream and 1 tbsp of seasoning to have an incredible medium spiced summer veggie dip.

Fredericksburg Farms – Texas Traildrive Chili Mix (Fredericksburg, TX)

“Chili lovers all over the world consider our Texas Trail drive Chili Mix to be just plain awesome.”

The old western look of this package is fun and feels very authentic. It seems like the company is very proud of this mix and on the side of the box it even says that if you win a cook off using this blend, you can send in your photo to Fredericksburg Farms and they’ll put it up on their website! Every year our friends get together in the fall and have a chili cook off and I think this blend of spices and herbs may be my ticket to winning this year!!

Fredericksburg Farms – Goat Milk Lotion (Fredericksburg, TX)

“Soft, supple, radiant skin all from indulging in some goat milk goodness!”

After a year of using hand sanitizer well over 10 times per day, I absolutely need to use a good lotion on my hands to keep them happy and healthy. This is the first time I had ever smelt Bluebonnet before and it’s absolutely lovely. It softens to a nice clean smell that stayed with me all day. On the side of the bottle it gave a little tidbit about Bluebonnets and I learnt that the Texas state flower and they grow abundantly along roadsides and fields… which made me wonder if they would grow in central Canada…?

Pippa Hill – Texas Bluebonnet Seeds (Oglesby, TX)

“A Texas symbol known the world over, the bluebonnet gets its name from the shape of the petals on the flower that resembles the bonnet worn by pioneer women to shield them from the sun. And is truly a Texas legend!”

I’ll be able to find out if Bluebonnet seeds grow in Canada this coming Spring! Included in the subscription box was a small tin of bluebonnet wildflowers that I can grow in my very own backyard. They’ve even included planting instructions on the back of the tin – so here’s hoping our colder spring temperatures don’t interfere and I can have gorgeous wildflowers around our home annually.

Pepperwood Candle Co – Bluebonnet Fields (Texas)

“Our soy candles are hand poured, hand blended luxury soy candles. They are handcrafted with 100% natural soy wax & premium quality fragrance oils which allow them to burn longer and cleaner than most other candles.”

Since I have to wait until spring of next year to plant my new Bluebonnet seeds I was very happy to find a scented candle in this month’s Celebrate States box. It starts off strong but after about 15 minutes the room was filled with a lovely fresh scent that just felt clean and like I had actually managed to do all the laundry in my home.

One’s Own Nest – Handmade Fabric Coaster (Texas)

Rounding out this subscription box and keeping with the Bluebonnet theme of the last few products; I was thrilled to find another item that will hold me over until bluebonnet season. This two-piece handmade fabric coaster set isn’t exactly my style, but I thought it would be very useful at my family’s cottage. It’s a very cozy and homey place and I think these will fit in perfectly. You can tell that the coasters are quilted with care and I’m sure we will have them in our family for years to come.

Celebrate States Review August 2021 – Final Thoughts

The August “Texas” Celebrate States box contained fun items from small businesses and allowed me to feel like I had just come home from a Texas trip with a few treasured keepsakes. It was so fun to learn more about the big state of Texas and all-in-all, I would give this subscription box a big ol’ Texas sized ten-four (“Yes!”).

Kylie Smith – www.kyliesmithable.com