You’ve probably seen the latest Christmas hot toy being advertised on TV right now called Moon Dough and in particular the Moon Dough Barn (you can also get other Moon Dough sets as well). The concept is pretty simple – it’s a play-doh like substance (but lighter and smoother) that can be moulded into various shapes and the beauty of it is that it doesn’t dry out like play-doh so you can continue to use it again and again.

The barnyard set contains molds for creating animals (the actual barn is the mold maker) so that you put the moon dough in the top, turn the handle and out pops the animal of your choice.

But there are some things that you need to know before you go off and buy this for your kid this Christmas.

One of the main problems with the toy is that it’s messy. Not stain your carpets messy or anything, but because it’s a finer and lighter consistency than play-doh it does seem to travel onto clothing and other surfaces pretty easily. Not that it’s a problem to clean up – you just brush it away or use some other dough to pick it up (it sticks back to itself). So it’s best used in an area that you know that can be easily cleaned.

The second major gripe that some customers are having is that it can be difficult to make perfectly formed animals from the barnyard mold. The trick is to make sure you pack enough of the moon dough into the mold area. Yes sometimes the moon dough can get stuck in the wheel section of the mold – just use a pencil or something long and thin to push it out again – it’s lightweight so it does come out easily.

So now that we’ve got the problems out of the way, I’m sure you are wondering what’s so good about it.

That answer is easy. It’s fun and kids’ love it. Come on you know kids like to be creative AND they like making a mess. This satisfies both those wants.

And because the consistency never dries out, they can make things over and over again.

So if you are considering this fun toy for your little one’s this Christmas just buy a plastic tablecloth as well and let them go for it.