What does the word "them" refer to here?

Of the three things mentioned that the kids will receive (box gizmo, and secret techniques), only the techniques are plural, so "them" refers to the techniques.

You could rewrite the sentence to make it less muddied.

And you should start with "Delivered by aliens," because the way it is, that phrase is referring to the kids, while I know it is supposed to refer to the box. One way to change that would be to make aliens the subject of the sentence:

Aliens will deliver to all kids a special box . . .

"Them" means the secret techniques.

Guttersquid is spot-on that there's more in that sentence warranting closer examination. Every word needs to serve a purpose; accordingly, you should be suspicious of generic adjectives like "special." You could eliminate that word altogether and not change the meaning of the sentence one whit: you've already told us the box came from aliens and contains secret techniques, which makes it pretty special without the baggage of that extra word. Or you could substitute another adjective that gives the reader additional information, perhaps about the box's size or color. For instance, one might assume that a box delivered by aliens would be silvery and shiny, so saying that aliens delivered a wooden box would provide an unexpected detail.

The techs, obviously. It makes no sense to assume she uses the kids or the aliens.

If there's potential for misunderstanding, I think it's best to rewrite the sentence. This can cause headaches too (like weighing the problem of a repeated word versus stretching to come up with a synonym that doesn't quite fit), but you don't want the reader to be scratching their head over ambiguity.

Being a wiz at using the gizmos or the special techniques is a moot distinction since they go hand in hand.

And I also agree the aliens delivered the kids not the boxes as written.

Roxxsmom said:

If there's potential for misunderstanding, I think it's best to rewrite the sentence. This can cause headaches too (like weighing the problem of a repeated word versus stretching to come up with a synonym that doesn't quite fit), but you don't want the reader to be scratching their head over ambiguity.

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I agree with this. If you as the writer aren't sure, you should probably revise so it's clear. If you make the reader work too hard, they may choose not to bother at all.

Once you've fixed the first part of the sentence, you might consider fixing the last part by saying

Sarah's a natural at using hers.

Amazing how someone asks what a single word means, and then the critiques, meaning criticisms, begin.

First of all, I did NOT immediately understand "them" to refer to the techniques. While that is the only expressly plural noun in the previous sentence, box and gizmo are implied to be plural because every child gets one. I had to stop and think about it, and that's not good when you're trying to make a query letter flow.

Secondly, the first thing that occurred to me, well before I got to "them" was "Children are delivered by aliens?"

Jamesaritchie said:

Amazing how someone asks what a single word means, and then the critiques, meaning criticisms, begin.

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This happens here so commonly that I've long considered it unremarkable, and I presume any regulars expect it when posting a question. Had it been me asking about one word in a sentence, I would have much appreciated people pointing out unrelated problems that I hadn't noticed.

It's possible you're conflating critiques and criticisms contrary to the intent of the posts' authors. I can speak to no one else's motives, but I read every post in this thread as trying to help Mikaelra improve his/her writing, not to tear it down.

Delivered by aliens, all kids receive a special box, a gizmo with secret techniques that protect you from madness. Sarah's a natural at using them.

Carefully considering what immediately precedes and immediately follows words, phrases, etc. can be helpful. The noun that immediately precedes a pronoun is usually the word that the pronoun is standing in for. As guttersquid pointed out, "them" is a plural pronoun, and "techniques" is the plural noun that immediately proceeds the pronoun. So, "techniques" is what "them" is standing in for. But look--the reader had to pass a few other nouns after "techniques" to get to the pronoun. That can cause confusion.

Looking at what immediately precedes and what immediately follows can be helpful in your first sentence, too. A few people here mentioned that it seemed the aliens delivered the kids. See what happened? "All kids" is immediately proceeded by "Delivered by aliens," so it seems the kids were delivered by aliens. (Made me wonder if the aliens are obstetricians or maybe midwives. Just playin'. I'm weird.)

I always appreciate any extra help on other problems found in the sentence or whatever question is asked… just saying.

I think most critiques on here are given in a spirit of helpfulness. And I have always found it useful when someone else has pointed out a problem I hadn't spotted.