A mum-of-two has gone viral revealing a brilliant bargain hack on how to keep kids entertained while travelling this summer – with a homemade ‘play pack’.
Eva Green, 40, from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, posted her creative idea on Facebook, sharing how she planned on keeping her two daughters, Ella, five and Mia, two, occupied as they flew to Slovakia on a family holiday.
The mum explains how, rather than buy expensive activity or toy sets, she bought two toiletry bags on eBay for £3.99 and put together her own version of a play set – using items from around the house or “for really cheap” prices.
Her children love their packs and believe they are brand new – and the innovative idea cost just £5.88 in total.
Fellow parents have praised the mum on social media, with Eva’s Facebook post racking up over 1,100 likes so far and hundreds of comments.
Each pack includes four separate compartments and can be attached to chairs or walls with metal hooks, which come in the shape of planes and cars.
Inside, Eva has stashed colouring crayons, stickers, colouring books and activity pages for her girls to enjoy – all of which came free in magazines or were found around the house.
She purchased play doh on Amazon for £1.89 to add in too.
The mum plans on adding small Lego figures that her daughters can use to ‘build up’ snacks and treats.
All of the items used in the play bags were either found around the house or bought for ‘really cheap’.
“I surprised my daughters with the bags when we got on the plane.” Eva told NeedToKnow.online.
“They really enjoyed it as it was full of things they love doing.
“I first saw the idea on Instagram but the bags were different and they also had different items in them.
“The response on Facebook was great as people were giving me tips on how to improve the bags and make them safer.”
Facebook users have been left blown away by the hack.
“Nice to see that your kids won’t be stuck with tablets in front of them, this is a sight that is too often seen. Hope your girls enjoy there packs and the holiday of course,” wrote one user. [sic]
“I did one of these for our daughter in the car, hung on back of passenger seat, was brilliant she could access bits herself and topped it up with different bits. Only mistake was crayons went in melted and dripped over the floor’ another person commented.
“Great idea + good planning. I always did that when my kids were young and it made journeys easier,” wrote someone else.
Some users were quick to share their own tips on how to fill the bags, with one person writing: “Instead of the Lego figure which will literally take minutes, get a Tupperware box which will fit in the bag, glue a Lego board to the lid and fill it with Lego you already have.”
“How about a little disposable camera so they can take photos of their trip and a little note book that they can write down their adventures in x,” suggested someone else. [sic]
According to Eva, you can still purchase the ‘play bags’ which are now £4.92 on eBay – with the popular bags going up nearly £1 in price since Eva bought them for £3.99.
However, the mum-of-two recommends that you remove the metal hooks which come on the bag and replace them with hair ties to prevent security issues in airports.
The packs measure around 20x26cm when folded, which also makes them the perfect size when travelling with little ones.
