Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Find the Perfect Gift at MuseumTour.com ~ Review & Giveaway

**The products for this review/giveaway were provided at no cost to me. However, all opinions are my own.

When it comes to finding gifts for my kids (as well as nieces and nephews), I like to find unique items that are fun and encourage learning. I am always looking for new products, and have grandparents asking me for similar ideas for the kids as well! That's why I was excited when introduced to Museum Tour!

Museum Tour is known for their catalog (mailed to 2 million homes!). They were founded on the belief that a child will want to learn if presented with toys that have been created with both education and fun in mind. So, MuseumTour.com offers an online store full of award-winning educational products that extend the museum experience into the home! How great is that?! 

As I browsed MuseumTour.com for the first time, I was impressed with their variety of products. Not only that, but they make it easy for parents, grandparents, etc. to find the perfect gift by having helpful categories where you can search by age or grade (preschool through high school)! This makes gift giving easy and I love that that there are so many fun and educational products all in one place! 

And, there's truly something for every learning style! Candy Chemistry ($36.99) is a great gift idea for your science whiz, while the Magformers Carnival Set ($74.95) would be perfect for a budding engineer! 

My kids are young and like to be hands-on, and like open-ended activities and toys. That's why I knew the Living Sands set would be absolutely perfect!

Features/Benefits: 

• Ages 3+
• Non toxic and antibacterial
• Won't stain and is easy to remove form hands
• Moldable
• Dry and soft
• Includes 4 lbs of living sands, large sand tray & 16 sand tools

This is something I knew all three of my kids would enjoy playing with and was excited to get it set up when it arrived! Everything was nicely packaged and presented in a way that was easy for me to see all that was included. 

There was very little assembly. I just simply screwed on the legs of the sand tray and dumped in the living sands and it was up and ready to use! 

I love that this set includes such a nice quality sand tray. It's the perfect place for the kids to play with the living sands and right at their level. I set it on the floor, but it would also be a nice size to use at a table as well. 

Of course, the kids were most excited about checking out the living sands. When I first put it in the tray it was pretty compacted from being inside the bag. We simply loosened it up some though, and it was ready to be played with. 

I wasn't sure what the consistency would be like, but wondered if it might be messy so I put a large mat down underneath the play area just in case. To my surprise and appreciation, Living Sands is not messy at all! In the times following I have not put down anything and have had no mess. YAY!

You might think messy when you hear the word "sands", but it's really a unique material and a lot of fun to touch and mold with. It's made up of sand and other natural ingredients, making it an easy-to-mold material that Kaden says feels like dough with fine sand in it! :)

It's soft and moldable, yet dry to the touch. Very unique and cool! I will admit, I think I have just as much fun playing with Living Sands as my kids do! 

Using the included sand tools, we've been able to mold the living sands into durable shapes without much effort. It's simple enough that even my 2 year old (supervised of course) can use and make into shapes too! While it does hold together well, it's still easy to break apart and start over which is nice too.  

The unique material actual appears to move as it breaks apart, almost as if it were alive! SO.MUCH.FUN!

This product provides tons of fun and educational value for my kids. They are required to use their imaginations and the open-ended play provides them the opportunity to get creative and make different shapes and figures every time they play with it! The sky really is the limit as to what can be made with Living Sands, which is why my kids never seem to lose interest and ask to play with it over and over again! 

I enjoy watching them as they learn and play, and have peace of mind knowing that the unique living sands formula is non-toxic and prevents bacterial growth...so it's safe for my kids!

The Living Sands set is just one example of the type of fun and educational toys offered through the amazing catalog and group of museum members that sell this wonderful assortment of educational toys! There are so many great choices for all ages, and the layout of the website makes it easy to help families find just the right gift, especially for the holidays coming soon! 

Whether you're still in the beginning stages of Christmas shopping, or just finishing up, I would highly recommend you checkout Museum Tour and all they have to offer. With everything from a Sew Fun Machine ($79.99) and Design and Drill ($39.99) to TargetToss ($19.99) and Water Color Canvas ($24.99)...you're sure to find the perfect gift at the perfect price!

WIN IT: One lucky reader is going to win a $30 Gift Code to use at MuseumTour.com! 

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