Invisible Ink Pens

I’ve just discovered something so AMAZINGLY awesome that I didn’t even know existed until today. For Christmas, my detective-loving son received invisible ink pens that come with a blacklight on the cap that makes the ink from the pen glow. How cool is that?! A pair of secret agent buddies can each own one of these inexpensive pens and write each other secret messages that only THEY can read with their special pens. I wish I’d had these when I was a kid.

Product: Invisible Ink Pens
Recommended Age Range: 7+
Price Range: ~$9 for 2 (exact item my son received) or 12 for $12 (similar item)
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)

Review: Yesterday was Christmas and my kids received a lot of fantastic stuff. I didn’t buy my kids a single thing, and it STILL looks like Santa’s workshop exploded in our house. I’m not trying to complain…my kids and I are very fortunate to have such loving and generous relatives. Anyway, back to my point….the received a metric TON of awesome stuff. (For example, see this bouncy horse that all four of them keep fighting over.)

However, of all the things they got, these invisible ink pens are, in my opinion, the coolest. It is SUCH a great idea! Pens which write with UV ink that can only be revealed with a UV light. I’ve TRIED making invisible ink before. I’ve done the whole lemon juice, milk, white crayon methods. They sooort of work. A little bit. Except that they are either a) still obvious before you “reveal” the message, b) difficult to read even after you reveal the message, or c) involve fire or other child-unfriendly methods.

My 7 year olds is a huge detective fan, since he started learning to read with the Nate the Great series of books last year. He’s currently working through the Jigsaw Jones detective series and also received Encyclopedia Brown books for Christmas. These pens are the perfect way to encourage his imagination and creativity while sustaining his passion for reading and writing. He can write notes to his friends in invisible ink, then disguise them by writing another decoy message on top in pencil.

I love them so much I’ve actually already ordered this cheaper set of 12 pens so he can give them out to his other detective-loving friends. These would make great party favors!

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