I grabbed the box of Moon Sand off the shelf at Target. Santa needed one more gift for Wyatt to balance out all the gifts between the two boys. I thought to myself “Perfect. Moldable sand. A gift that is for Wyatt but that both boys can use.”
The box contained orange and red Moon Sand and a couple of molds. I read the box. It said “Molds like dough. Never dries out. Cleans up easily and won’t stick or stain.” I picked up an extra container of blue and green Moon Sand so they would have more to play with.
I showed it to Lauren when I got home from shopping. She gave me the Are you sure? look. You know the look that says “You are going to be sorry about this.” The Are you sure look is normally a precursor to the I told you so look. I told her I thought the stuff looked cool and that it would be fun to play with. She gave me the Are you sure look again and we left it at that.
A day or two after Christmas, Maxfield and Wyatt were very excited to play with the Moon Sand. As soon as I opened the first package of orange sand I knew I was in trouble. The key word in the product's name is Sand.
I repeat, SAND.
Does it mold? Sure. It molds into the fingernails of small boys. It molds into the cracks and crevices of the faux tile floor. It molds into all the wrinkles and folds of clothing.
Is it easy to clean up? Sure if you have a vacuum cleaner with a replaceable Hepa filter or a power washer that can be used indoors.
After 20 minutes of playing with, and 40 minutes of cleaning up the Moon Sand I decided the best place to store the product would be out in the garage. I put it behind the containers of gas and pesticides and weed killers. All the stuff the kids know they are not allowed to touch.
I told Lauren about the hiding spot just in case the kids ask for it again. She spared me the I told you so look.
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39 comments:
LOL You should have asked your audience :) I'd have told you to pass on the moon sand. It is very cool, sand, but not sand..NEVER dries out. Neat stuff, but it's still sand and gets everywhere like you said. We have it and since it NEVER dries out, my kid will not allow me to throw it away. She and my husband play with it - it's not 'my deal' I always say. That and PlayDough...no thank you. Good luck :)
That looks like an outside toy.
I'm so glad you posted this! I was in awe of moon sand and thought it was too good to be true. Thanks to your post I shall learn from your mistake and steer clear of it!
Yeaaaah...I'm having a similar experience with Pixos right now. Aidan had to have them & now the little beads are EVERYWHERE! The dog even had a little projectile barfing episode that I am not too sure isn't connected to Pixos is some way. Good luck...maybe they will at least forget about it until summer when a hose comes in really handy! =)
That was on a bunch of Top Ten lists as worst gift ever. Just so you know.
Moon Sand is Satan's tears. Tears he's spilled while laughing when he sees parents like us tossing a couple tubs of it in our carts, so pure and innocently, while at Target.
I speak from experience.
This was one of the only things my son wanted for Christmas last year...so of course he got some from Santa and 3 sets of grandparents. Needless to say...we are BURIED in Moon Sand and all of it's various parts. Not only did it make a terrible mess...but he gets bored with it in about 10 minutes because he can only make molds with it. He wants to be able to actually build stuff like with Play-doh or clay. We did pull it out a couple of times over the summer to play with outside...but it is NEVER coming in the house again!
LOL...loved the comment about Satan's tears!!
Did you create the last two posts to try and help me out of my "baby's are so cute and I want one" phase?
Good to know: Santa should never bring moon sand. Got it!
You do realize that I'm saving all of these tid-bits for when I become a parent right?
Thanks!
Yeah, I wonder if this should be used out in the sandbox? False advertising!?!
So, we made the same mistake this year and thought perhaps we were the only parents dumb enough to fall into the trap. My son lasted almost 5 days after Christmas, after the playdoh and the finger paints his grandparents got him. We took it out and set it up for him on a lunch tray that my husband stole from his high school way back in the day. It doesn't make worms and he was pissed about it. He played with it for about 10 minutes nicely and then began grinding it into the carpet, his clothing, and oh yes.... his hair! You thought it was hard to get out of clothes? Try hair. On a boy who is sure that water is going to burn his eyes out. After it was all cleaned up, we hid it in the same place that Santa hid it before Christmas.... In the attic!
We got Satan's sand last Christmas from the GodParents. I am convinced they are trying to drive us insane. I sent my daughter outside with it and so glad I did. That stuff went into the garage right after the first play. Hubby wasn't too happy with the mess in the breezeway. I just gave him my "Now, you know how I feel" look.
You can tell how bad this stuff is, because there are tons of it on sale at Target and no one is touching it.
You know how I'm a ditherer? Well Moon Sand was something I dithered over just before Christmas and decided after a lot of dithering not to buy it.
So thanks for telling me this to save me the energy next year.
to Charity Donovan: OMG the Pixos! Who comes up with this stuff!? Thanks to Grandpa we're stuck with those also...tiny beads everywhere, they hardly stick together and only after nearly 45 minutes of spraying and drying. and then in the hands of a 6 year old...they snap at the weakest point. Awesome.
Oh this is so funny! Thanks for the floor and clothes pictures.
I am going to go to bed now and laugh about this all the way up the stairs!
YUP, made that mistake myself. Luckily I was able to send it home with my step-daughter! Now it's her mother's problem! HAR, what, is that mean?
Next time, shoot for play dough or crayons and coloring books! Did you know dry erase kid's markers stain everything except the dry erase board? Especially clothing. My kids, in their new Christmas duds, have multi-colored spots that will never come out! Stinky.
Give that moon sand away on freecycle. hee
You should have posted to the website before giving to the boys and the internets would have warned you.
Moon Sand is awful, but you know that now!
Our Moon Sand is hidden so well, I forgot where I put it! Some poor SOB will find it hidden somewhere deep underground and bring forth the plague once again upon humanity some day! Moon Sand has been embedded into every corner of our house.
I KNEW there was a reason the one box we have is unopened in the back of a drawer. Straight to the garbage. Tonight!
Thanks for the PSA!
Maybe next time they want to play with it, have them play with it in the bathtub right before bathtime. Then just wash it all down the drain to cleanup!
Yeah, we have two tubs of it here and it lives on the back deck where if it falls off the outdoor table, it gets swept into the "garden". No problem. Of course, in a few years when all my garden vegetables and flowers are blighted for some unexplainable reason, I may feel differently. ;)
We played with sand today too. AT THE BEACH! What was Santa thinking?? LOL.
Okay, my wife would have KILLED me if I stepped foot in the house with that.
A mom would have thought of every possible worst scenario and then steered cleared of the moon sand along with the pixos (a.k.a aquadots) and the bendaroos that are now being advertised. You gotta give the marketing department for these items mad props though -- They really reach out to kids and it seems to have been on almost everyone's Christmas list this year.
My husband HATES that stuff. I don't mind as much but he seems to have a passionate, hate fest with it. I keep finding it in the trash which of course then I pull it out because I can't stand to waste anything. The big question is: Who will win the Moon Sand power struggle?
OMG I'm so pleased to know that I'm not alone. The paint was peeling on our wooden deck so I let the kids play with the Satan Sand on the deck. It got all over the place and little people walked on it for weeks before we got all of the 40 grit moon sand paper nibbles up. Did a nice job stripping patches of the deck ...
AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, happened to me too. Moon sand box lies.
Michael, You who buys Moon Sand for two boys should know that in an old house with glass door nobs and five kids and 10 or so visiting friends at a time, you are going to get down to only being able to find one nob that has to travel from door to door! Love your sand story! Your children will treasure these stories in times to come. My 37 nieces and nephews can't wait for Aunt Eliz to come and tell stories! Elizabeth
Lol...Don't feel so bad,,,I fell into the same trap last year.
i'm loving how wyatt's little toes are curled up on the chair in front of him...so cute! please tell him i said so in case he's a bit jealous of master jackson.
You totally should've asked. Moon Sand is most definitely the work of the devil. For sure. And, for the record, someone suggested using it in the bathtub, DO NOT DO IT. It can expand and may clog your pipes. That would set up some serious begatting. Moon Sand disappeared so fast in my house my kids weren't sure if it was a dream or not.
Note to self, no moon sand for children of families I like. As for the rest, econ size moon sand coming up!
three snaps up in a z formation
"HATED IT"
omg.... satan sand is right!
i had it in my beige carpet in the den...the sofa.... the clothes....everywhere...
so sorry to see that you did this too...~giggles~
HAHAHAHAHA - Yep...been there...done that...hid the moon sand forever more!
Oh my LOL!! I found you through Elizabeths "Creative Breathing" blog. The story is great and the photos are priceless! I thought that sand sounded to good to be true.
I am "Santa" in our house. The ONLY gift Hubby has "turned back" was FLOAM. Pretty much for the same reasons.
Wow! So glad you put the pics up, that really drives the warning home. Not to self, put a fork in your eye before ever buying Moon Sand.
Oh my goodness. This situation sounds sooo similar. I bought this stuff for my son a couple years ago when it first came out.
And ya, he played with it one time and he's never seen it since. Hmmm...I wonder where it went??? :)
For some reason, I still have it tucked away. Like what, am I going to ever want to spend 45 min cleaning up the mess again? I doubt it. But, I just can't bring myself to throw it away. Since I spent money on it and all...
Late to the party here...but I think you did the right thing. If I passed something called "Moon Sand" I would buy it for my kids in a heartbeat.
Of course now that I've read your tale of woe, I'm going nowhere near the stuff.
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