Aunty Mikes' Passport Club vs Polar Pen Pal

Where they differ

Both are travel, stickers and postcards clubs. Past that they pull apart: Aunty Mikes' Passport Club also covers letters and music, while Polar Pen Pal adds nature.

Aunty Mikes' Passport Club is the cheaper of the two — £4.99/mo against $34 for 3 months, roughly 44% less on a monthly basis. Whether that gap means anything depends on what turns up: the dearer club is not automatically sending more, and on a gift the up-front total matters more than the monthly figure.

Shipping is the one that rules a club out rather than in: Aunty Mikes' Passport Club ships to Worldwide, Polar Pen Pal to Not stated.

What each one sends

Aunty Mikes' Passport Club

Each month covers one country: a dispatch newsletter, an authentic recipe card, a color-in postcard, a collectible vinyl-record-style card with a QR code linking to music, and a custom sticker sheet. Month one adds a passport booklet for collecting stamps. The envelope is addressed to the child, and the postcard is meant to be written on and mailed to a relative.

Polar Pen Pal

Postcards and small northern keepsakes mailed by a family living in Arctic Canada, showing everyday Arctic life, plus collectible stickers. Mail is addressed personally to the child. Subscribers also get password-protected online access to videos and Arctic learning resources.

Which one to pick

We are not going to pretend there is a winner here — they are close enough to be on the same shortlist, which is why this page exists. What we would say is that the choice usually turns on the household rather than the club: how much adult time there is, whether the child reads independently yet, and whether you want post that asks something of them or post that simply arrives.

Read the full listings before deciding, and follow through to each club's own site — prices, terms and gift options are theirs to change and ours only to record.