Best Lovevery Play Kits [+ WORST Ranked By Age] | Montessori Subscription Toy Box

Wondering what the best Lovevery play kits are? Or the worst one's you should either skip altogether or recreate using self curated alternatives? After reviewing the play kits for 5+ years, I'm ranking them all by age to save you time and money!

Be sure to check out all my Lovevery reviews where I also hand select alternatives if you choose to go the self curating route OR use my Lovevery discount code TCM to save on a new subscription here!

Watch Best + Worst Lovevery Play Kits Ranked By Age

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Best Lovevery Play Kits For Newborns to 6 month olds

Best: The Charmer

I think the best play kit is The Charmer. We still use the mirror to this day. The book is something that we often took with us until about 2 years old during car rides or as a travely toy.

Additionally, you can't beat the selection of non-toxic rattles and teethers compared to buying random ones off Amazon. Lastly it includes a set of Lovevery flashcards, which are by far a superior flashcard. They are incredibly durable and kid proof (yes drool proof too!). They hold up great across multiples kids.

Worst: The Looker

For newborns to six month olds babies, I'd say the play kit to skip is the Looker. You can use the crinkle book from the Charmer play kit to essentially accomplish the same thing as the standing card holder in the Looker play kit. Additionally, neither of my kids ever used a set of mittens or a mobile. You can purchase a wooden board book from Lovevery's Target line here as an alternative too (which I do recommend we because a wooden board book during teething is really helpful!).

While the sensory links look fun, and I've heard great things about them (they weren't included at the time we got ours), I would just say it doesn't have enough truly unique and long lasting items to justify.

Best Lovevery Play Kit 6 to 12 month olds

Best: The Inspector

If being critical for 6 to 12 month olds, I'd say the best play kit is the Inspector – though there are some great options in this age range!

For us personally, we still use items from The Inspector with an almost 6 year old and 3 year old, which makes it our longest lasting play kit (thus the biggest bank for the buck!). If you saw our playroom tour, you know that we still use the object permanence box to this day and it's always out.

We also still use the basket, felt balls, and stacking cups. Though it's noteworthy you can get the complete set of stacking cups here via their Target line here which includes even more.

Moreover, the metal cup is fantastic for littles oral development and something we still use. We also loved the sign language book as it actually held us accountable with teaching signs, which came in handy before my kids could talk.

Worst: The Explorer

While I don't think the Explorer play kit is necessarily bad, but it won worst over The Thinker because it's just so much easier to recreate on your own and the items didn't last as long as The Thinker play kit for us.

For instance, you're going to buy more wooden blocks than just 3. And while we LOVE play silks, you're also going to end up buying more than just the one too in my experience.

Best Lovevery Play Kit 1 year old to 2 year olds

Best: The Companion

I know most people would probably say the best 1 year old play kit by Lovever is the Babbler, but I'm actually a bigger fan of The Companion!

And don't get me wrong, the ball run in the Babbler play kit is awesome, and always out on our play shelf; but you could easily DIY your own posting activities and we simply don't use the items in the Babbler as much as we do in from the Companion years later.

Worst: The Realist

This was an incredibly difficult decisions between the Realist and The Adventurer. I think in my Adventurer review, I said you could self curate it for less than the cost of Lovevery (which rarely happens). So even though we still use all the items from the Adventurer to this day, the fact you can recreate it at cost or less had it on the chopping block.

But ultimately I decided to give the worst play kit title to the Realist; even though it includes some of our all time favorite Lovevery items; they just haven't stood the test of time (also very rare for Lovevery items). For instance, the Quilted Critters actually ended up getting destroyed with just so much smoothie and food crumbs, that no matter how many times I washed it, it just kept getting worse. So we no longer have it. The flashlight was another one of my kids all time favorites, but they unfortunately lost the battery backing and got so many crumbs wedged in the transparent covering.

Additionally, the version of the Realist play kit we got did not include the bus, however the next play kit does come with a van, so I'd suggest just waiting for that play kit instead.

Lastly, we absolutely LOVE the lockbox that comes in this play kit, and still use it all of the time; however KiwiCo also released their own version of a lockbox that has fewer locks but is bigger as a whole and my son ultimately fell in love with that one even more because he can store more stuff inside.

2 to 3 year Old Best Play Kits

Best: Investigator or Helper or Free Spirit

Each of this has something to love and something lacking. With my first child, I would've said the Investigator, and with my second he was obsessed with The Helper, and I loved The Free Spirit the most. This year was honestly the hardest to rank, and where I start seeing kids get more into specific interests. I will say all of them do make great gifts because they are incredibly well rounded as kids are exploring, but this is the point my kids started to have “winners” and “duds” in the Play Kits and I'd recommend families choose based on their kids interests.

Worst: The Enthusiast

The Enthusiast is definitely the play kit to skip, and possibly the worst Lovevery play kit for any age. The puzzle that comes in it is way to easy by the time my kids were “of age” and the scales were too complex and probably our least used Lovevery item.

You're better off buying a squirt bottle and squeegee from the Dollar Tree and getting your child a nice tea set instead.

3 to 4 Year Old Best Play Kits

Best: The Observer

The modular dollhouse included in The Observer play kit is 100000% worth the cost of the play kit alone. Beyond that, it comes with 3 books. These won't be your child's new favorite book, but you will end up relying on those books as scripts for working through challenging emotions over the next couple of years and are helpful with your child's development, which make this play kit a no brainer IMO.

Worst: The Storyteller

While we actually do love The Storyteller play kit, I'd say it's the one to skip from this years play kits (because they are really good IMO!).

My daughter actually uses the puppets to show us how she's feeling, and it includes one of our all time favorite Lovevery books. However you can DIY an alternative to the Lovevery mop pretty easily using this.

And while we loved the ease of building a fort with Lovevery's fort kit, it never created a big enough build for multiple kids and an adult. Additionally, it would break too easily and we ultimately preferred this wooden fort kit instead which is why I'm giving this play kit “the worst” title.

4 to 5 Year Old Best Play Kits

Best: The Examiner or Connector

Overall these two play kits didn't have any duds. My kids have enjoyed every single item included.

In the Connector play kit, the To-Do board did quickly get replaced by the Examiner's board, but we still found it useful intitially. And the book is probably the BEST Lovevery book of all time and one we constantly refer back to. And my kids love the little town, bag, and microscope.

The Examiner play kit did not have a single dud item either. My kids use everything in there ALL of the time. The book is another one of our favorites, and I honestly can't say enough great things about The Examiner play kit.

Worst: The Persister

While we LOVE the marble run track in this play kit, the rest of the items are a little underwhelming making this our least favorite 4 year old play kit.

You can easily get a dry erase workbook or DIY similar alternatives that are easier to travel with/store when not in use. The breathing ring feels a little late as my kids have been working on calming breathing skills for years at this point and the Jilly and Jett book offers a similar “conflict” that seems better suited to a younger child.

While my daughter loves the Montessori moveable alphabet game, it was a little boring as a parent and with the new Lovevery Reading Skill Sets you certainly don't “need” it. With that said it is NOT repetitive to any of the reading skill set items, I just think the skill sets include so much of what you need that this item is a “bonus” and not necessary. Read my full Lovevery Reading Skill Sets Review here !

Be sure to check out all my Lovevery reviews, including links to self curate your own here!