All millennials want for Christmas are subscriptions

Editor's note: This story originally reported FabFitFun sells four boxes at a price of $50. WCPO regrets this error.

Why buy your favorite millennials one present when you can buy them new boxes of surprises mailed monthly all year to their doorsteps?

Subscription boxes are hot items on millennial holiday lists this year, and they are evolving way past overpriced Wine of the Month clubs. Modern consumers can purchase monthly deliveries of dog treats, makeup samples, and books tailored to their interests.

Subscription boxes have taken off in the last five years. One of the founders of subscription box trailblazer Birchbox, Katia Beauchamp, told Fashionista.com: "We wondered why it was so hard to find the best products. If you don't obsess over beauty and don't enjoy researching the latest launches, you still deserve to get the best stuff."

The idea that people don't have time to scour the internet, let alone shop in person, has taken hold.

Now, subscription boxes, which range from just a few dollars to hundreds per month depending on the items and company, are hotter than Beanie Babies were in the '90s.

Here are a few fan favorites for the millennials on your list who don't need any more gloves!

For your favorite queen of accessories

FabFitFun is quickly growing into one of the most sought-after presents. The "beauty, wellness, fashion, and fitness" subscription is currently promoting a $10-off special for a subscriber's first box, typically priced at $50. 

Reading mom of four Emma Gentry, 28, anxiously awaits her seasonal box as a way to treat herself.

"I love getting the box because it's something that I forget about and then, poof, I have a gift to open! I am always buying stuff for, well, everyone else in my life, so this is a fun little gift I get myself," she said.

This season, Gentry is also getting her husband the "Gentleman's Box." 

"He has to dress business for work and this box is a perfect little extra for him," she said.

For the hard-to-buy-for, down-to-earth guy  

The Dollar Shave Club is one of the original subscription boxes as well as one of the most affordable. While it's not always just $1, it can stop your agonizing over what to get the guy who has everything: Razors and accessories, of course.

The straight-forward marketing approach has proven attractive as sales skyrocketed in the last year, although some argue that it's not as economical as it seems. Time Money reports that these razors are actually rebranded Dorco razors, but the fun ads are still attracting customers.

The subscription service is currently marketing a starter gift box followed by monthly replacements razors, available in 2, 4 or 6 blades.

Gentry signed her husband up for the "Executive Box" for $9 per month. 

"You can do all kinds of add-ons, and they make it very easy to skip a month if you don't need new blades," she said. "My husband shaves almost daily, so I think this will be his favorite.

For the couple stuck in a Netflix rut

Stevie Leinberger, 27, of Reading, and her husband just had their first baby. They each work a full-time job, and they're "always exhausted." That's why this season they will be starting a subscription to "Datebox," a service that sends prepackaged date ideas.

The spouses have a standing Friday night babysitter but often end up sitting at home because they haven't made a date-night plan.

"By the time we decide what to do, we just go to bed," she said. 

Datebox ideas she is looking forward to include links to cooking shows to replicate at home with a list of everything you need, food vouchers for new restaurants and nearby events in the recipient's city.

Leinberger got started by answering some questions about what the couple likes to do.

"It had questions about if you like the outdoors, or rock climbing, or just staying in," she said. "So I hope it gets us to go out some."

For your favorite wine-sipping buddy

The Tasting Room subscription service boasts its customers will "Get what you want, when you want it. And never run out of quality wine."

Tasting samples of various wines will be delivered to your door after you fill out a preference survey, and the company will attempt to tailor full-size bottles of wine after that to your requests. Then it continues to refine its selections as you rate the bottles you receive each month.

Emma Gentry, in addition to her FitFabFun box and Dollar Shave Club box, ordered this as well for her husband for Christmas. 

"He will get their sample box, which is six single glass bottles of four reds and two whites to try, and then he will go into their site and answer the questions about each one," she said. "Then they will send 12 bottles that match his taste test."

"I think he will like this one the most, because he loves to try new wines but hates making choices, so this will allow him to try wines without deciding."  

With a current Groupon, you can try six tasting glasses and six full-size bottles for $35, originally a $99.94 value.