After booking a holiday in France this year I had clearly lost my tiny mind when suggesting to my husband that we drive the eleven hour journey to the south in just two days with a five and a three year old in tow, precisely at the point in my three year old’s development where she has learnt to ask every five minutes in the car “ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET?”. GAH. The destination looked beautiful, but whether we would all arrive with our sanity in check with two cabin fevered little ones was quite another issue.
Keeping the kids amused and entertained on the journey was KEY to the start of our holiday and so I started plundering Amazon for activity stuff. With time being in short supply, this was a right old palava that I could do without, for sure, and so when I came across Keep Em Quiet on Instagram, I KNEW I’d hit the jackpot.
These brilliant travel packs for kids are exactly what they – and you – need for a long journey, when going on holiday, or visiting long distance relatives or just any situation where you might need a distraction. Although we were driving, the packs are perfect for flights too and as they come in a handy backpack, kids will be able to carry them onto the plane by themselves, leaving your arms free for duty-free shopping. (Right?!)
So what’s in the packs? Well, in the words of my five year daughter, “There’s SO MANY THINGS!” and yep, she’s right. Firstly, the travel packs are age grouped, so Maggie had the 3-5 year old girl’s pack, and Bess received the 5+ one. Both come with age appropriate activities, books and small toys – Bess had a bead bracelet kit, and a multiplication wipe clean book which kept her ticking over for about an hour. Maggie had a cute hairdressing toy set in her bag, and couldn’t have been more delighted with it – in fact, it was a main play item for the whole holiday. And then there are sticker books, colouring pads, a mathematics (basic adding) book for Maggie; they made crowns on the Autoroute du Soleil and coloured in princesses and Dory as we arrived at our ‘Fairy Castle’ – Chateau St Gaultier, on the first day. They played with their jigsaws as we travelled under Paris, and Bess made bracelets for all of us during the long journey home from Toulouse to Calais, and during a stopover at Disneyland Paris the packs came with us again for a distraction at the dinner table. They are literally bursting with goodies – speaking of which, the girls absolutely loved their little snack packs that are also included with Pombears, Bear yo yos, raisins, and a cereal bar to keep little tummies from grumbling. When the packs were out, the kids literally were silent except for the odd whoop of excitement as they opened a new activity.
So all of this must come at a pretty price, right? WRONG. The long journey pack, which we received for our trip, is just £15.99 – which, given that it lasted over a week and was still coming out on the journey home is remarkable value. And don’t forget, that the blue bag that it all comes in can be used again and again – perfect for swimming kits, trainers, PE kits etc. We had the girls packs, which were ideal for our two, but you might like the unisex packs for your kids. Finally – and importantly – the time I saved by not trawling half of Amazon for items, waiting for delivery etc and organising the packs myself was worth it’s weight in gold.
It’s a no-brainer; to keep the kids happy, and your sanity in check on a long journey, Keep ‘Em Quiet!
You can check out these brilliant travel packs for kids here >> www.keepemquiet.com, and like their Facebook page for updates and more information here.
Thanks to Keep ‘Em Quiet for our brilliant packs – this post is sponsored content but as with anything we review on The Motherload®, it’s written fairly and only in line with our own findings.
About Kate Dyson
Founder of The Motherload®. Wife, mum to two girls, two cats and shit loads of washing in baskets that sit around the house waiting to be ironed. It never happens.
Hater of exercise, denier of weight gain, lover of wine.
Feminist.
Twitter: @mrskatedyson
Photo Credit: Kate Dyson
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