Fly me to the moon

Alien toys have been popular with children for a while now, and lots of space-age toys and activities can be created quite cheaply.

Space soaps

Reasonably priced packs of small plastic figures are easily available.

Using them, children can make their own fun soaps with an alien visible inside - they're great for encouraging children to wash their hands because when they've used the soap up, they get to play with the long-awaited toy! (Some craft shops now stock large bags of soap specifically for these types of activities, but you can use any glycerine product.) Children should wash their alien in washing-up liquid, dry it, and place it in the bottom of a clean margarine container that will serve as a mould. A block of both clear and coloured glycerine soap should be cut into dice-sized cubes - warm it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften first if necessary. (Depending on the ability of the children, you may prefer an adult to do this.) The clear soap cubes should be melted (not boiled) in the microwave in an old jug and then poured into the mould until it is filled three-quarters of the way. A few cubes of coloured soap are pushed into the clear soap as it begins to cool, so that once the clear soap is set the coloured cubes will still be intact within it. When hard (two hours or one in the fridge), the mould needs to be twisted slightly in order to pop the soap out. The alien will be visible inside, and the blocks of coloured soap will look attractive too.