Monster Repellent Spray
; "Pinterest"){kind=small}
My niece has always been a fan of scary and gross things, so she never really thought much about those mischievous, imaginary monsters that sometimes lurk under kids' beds. Unfortunately, all that changed recently when she spent the night with a friend whose older sibling decided to share a really scary video with the girls. Squirt's imagination set loose and her parents had quite a month on their hands dealing with the newcomer monsters at bedtime every night!
No amount of reassurances that monsters don't exist or viewings of Monsters, Inc. would convince Squirt that her room was safe. Her daddy came up with an idea to make Monster Repellent Spray, and enlisted my help. The idea was that a clever label would turn an ordinary can of air freshener into a magical, anti-monster spray that she could use to protect her room before going to sleep. It was a great idea, and he just needed the label. I got right on it!
I designed a cute Monster Spray downloadable, printable label. And in case your little one is afraid of aliens, I made a matching Alien Spray label, too.
Just print the label onto a sheet of sticker paper and grab a can of spray air freshener.
Next, you'll need to cut the label out to fit your can. Cut it to the size you need, but leave one side untrimmed. (I'll tell you why in a minute.)
Peel the back off the sticker paper and center it on the can.
Stick the label down to the can, but do the side with the extra long piece on it first. That way, when you stick the trimmed side down, it will overlap the white and you'll get a nice finished edge with no gaps.
That's all there is to it. You now have an adorable can of great-smelling Monster Spray that will let your little one keep those scary guys away for sure!
P.S. I can't let a post about monsters go by without mentioning my absolute favorite book when I was a child -- The Monster at the End of this Book, featuring lovable Grover. Oh how I loved reading that book over and over! I still have a copy of it on my bookshelf today.
29 comments so far:
I think this is such a good idea...however, to add to the Monster spray, if you wanted to really help your child sleep I reccomend Lavender Scented Spray. Here's why...
In folklore, pillows were filled with lavender flowers to help restless people fall sleep. Scientific evidence suggests that aromatherapy with lavender may slow the activity of the nervous system, improve sleep quality, promote relaxation, and lift mood in people suffering from sleep disorders.
A little essential oil in a spray/mist bottle of water would work, too, without the chemicals in room freshener that may not be all that healthy. When/if my little girl gets scared of monsters in her room, I'll be trying this out! Thanks for the idea.
I love that book too! We even had it in German and Spanish I think. What a fun one to read aloud to a kid, too!
Carrie and rachel, those are great tips! I especially love the idea of just using a spray bottle of water, because then the child can use as much as she wants without having the entire house smell too much :)
What a fabulous idea. And the ideas in the comments are right on target!
I have to share another "Monster Repellent" idea that an acquaintance with a small child uses. She tells her little girl that the flowers in their garden keeps monsters from coming near the house. Whenever I have extra perennials, I pass them along for the monster barrier.
That book was one of my son's favorites when he was little. Thanks for reminding me about it. I'll have to get a copy for my grandchildren!
What a neat idea to have a flower barrier! Hadn't heard that one before!
Just did the same thing for my grandaughter, but with a twist. It was no more Chicken spray. They live on a small farm and she has this thing with chickens. Worked like a charm and parents get to sleep now.
Haha, that is too funny, Vivian! I'm so glad your granddaughter is sleeping easy now :)
Oh, what wonderful memories this brings back for me! We made monster spray for my youngest daughter years ago, using water and essential oil in an old pump hairspray bottle, complete with label. We started out by spraying her room together, but before long she was brave enough to spray it all by herself. The monsters left our house soon after that, and I kind of miss them (or, more accurately, the cuddles they inspired).
Thanks for sharing this to keep the tradition alive and little ones safe from their fears!
My mom used monster spray when I was little!!! I'm 26 now and still have fond memories of that and her "monster dance" to ward off monsters! I'm expecting a little girl now and can't wait to do this when she's scared of monsters under the bed :)
Thank you for the PDF for the monster spray. When my boyfriend recently told me his daughter was having nightmares of scary bears, i told him to make "Bear be gone" spray. I then googled monster repellent and came to this site. Tonight hes going home to make monster repellent in hopes we can get a good nights sleep with no more nightmares.
Rebecca, that's a sweet memory. Your mom was definitely looking out for you!
Jaime, so glad we had the download that could help you out. Now that you're here, I hope you browse the rest of our site to see what else we have to offer. We'd love to have you among our readers :)
Chica,
I've definately been looking through all the other goodies you ladies have here. I am trying to do a cast resin project next.
What a great idea!!! I love that book, too - I used to read it to my grandson all the time - it was one of our favorites!!
LOL...yes this can be a great idea but beware it can cause you to stay up more!!! I tried this 15 years ago when a coworker suggested it. He was find at first but then came in got us about every 15 minutes to come respray because he couldnt smell it anymore and was scared the monsters would come back!!! We still laugh about it today. So you might want to try to use something that the scent stays around for a while...like one of the automatic sprayers they have now days :)
Good point, Stacie! Or maybe just use a regular spray bottle of water so that there's no smell in the first place.
FYI - A Monster at the end of this book and the sequal Another Monster at the end of this book are available for iphones, ipods, and ipads. I purchased these apps for my grandson and now when we are in the car, Grover and Elmo read the book for him. They are also interactive so the child has to help knock down the barriers in order to turn the page.
PJ, that sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing.
This is genius! I wish I had thought of this when mine were little! I don't actually remember reading that book as a kid, but it was one of my faves to read with my kids. So cute!
Love this idea. And the Monster at the End of this Book is my ALL TIME FAVE! Thanks for posting!
This is a great idea! Thanks for mentioning the book! I had forgotten about it but a flood of memories came when you mentioned it! I love that book and "Super Grover"! I plan to make a little gift for my grandson with the book and some stay maybe with a picture of Super Grover on the label. I think I have a copy of the book stored somewhere.
Lovely gift idea, Tina Joy!
Thank you so much, Ladies! My nephew is 3 right now but I know that soon enough he is going to need this. Both of you are amazing for sharing this with the world!!!
We use Monster Powder and let our son "puff" his room with lavender scented powder. My husband made a "monsters away" label for it...that suggestion came from our neurologist when one of our issues was that our son was afraid that monsters were in his room at night. As long as he is able to "powder" his room he sleeps fine all night. The only downside, is that the powder does leave a light residew in his room, which a dusting and vacuuming take care of. A small price to pay for a good nights sleep.
Hello, my friend uses the monster spray for her son and it's the coolest thing. I have a friend who is terribly afraid of aliens. Can you please make a template for alien repellent?!
Troy, ya caught me on a free evening, so I pulled out the old template and made a version for Alien Spray. See the post above for the download. Hope that helps your friend!
Thank you so much for a cute printout and easy explanation. I told my niece that I used monster be gone spray last night, and she totally wants to see it now because she doesn't believe me. I told her mommy had to "borrow" it to get the formula so we can get rid of monsters forever.. time to make a can while she's not looking! Lol!
Kristen, we're happy to help make your secret trick more believable :)
So cute! What a great idea!!!