Moon Sand is a rainy day dream. Its hands-on creation is nearly theraputic--it feels good just to let it mold to your fist, then mush and remold. Imagine a day at the beach with kids. You want them to have fun, you want them to get lost in the creation of castles, of dumping and pouring, of being kids. But, ugh, the mess. With Moon Sand, they'll be playing neatly.

I'm not saying there's no mess, I had my kids strip down so as not to track the sand through the house, and then turned on Tommy, our i-robot Roomba, to clean up the pieces. Moon Sand is more smooth than sand is grainy. It feels just the slightest bit wet and doesn't scatter all over the house because it stays together. It sweeps up very easily--unlike playdough and real sand.

The greatest thing about MoonSand? It doesn't need to be replaced often. Unlike playdough, it won't dry out. Some of the kits (like the Castle Play Set) come with and easy-to-carry case, so you can fold up your playing area and store it, or move it, mess free. But, if you'll be in for several beach days this winter, you can leave the Moon Sand out, display the awesome Castle Island without concern that a wave will knock it down, to show Daddy.

Just be sure to keep the little ones away. The only concern with Moon Sand is that it can't be ingested. My poor 2-year-old, I reminded him about every 30 seconds that he couldn't suck his thumb. So much so that when he wanted a break, he looked up and said, "Mommy, I want to suck. Can I wash my hands now?"

The Castle Play Set is currently 30ish percent off at Amazon. And eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping... you know the deal.