activities for little travellers Archives

Last Christmas, I made the kids each one of these DIY LEGO kits and I’m so glad I did. They were a super easy project and they’ve been so great for taking along on our travels and vacations. We don’t use them in transit (too many small pieces to be used in a car or on a plane for me), but they’re perfect for down times once at our destination {usually in an airbnb}.

I wish I would have taken proper step-by-step photos of the process, but truly they’re not even needed – it’s so easy.

First off, here’s what I used to make two kits:

Of course if you’re making just one kit, you could get away with a single carry kit, a smaller base plate, and a smaller LEGO brick box. Or if you have a different carry case already on hand, you could easily use that and just refer to this material list and the following instructions as a basic guide. Whatever works! In the past, we’ve even made the most basic portable LEGO kits using old-school metal lunch kits.

Now to make the LEGO kit! Here’s what you’re going to do:

1. Start by measuring the inside of your carry case’s lid.

2. Measure out a piece of baseplate that will fit nicely inside the carry case’s lid and mark your cut points with a pencil. For this particular case, I made my base plate 16 centimetres by 23 centimetres.

3. Using regular scissors, carefully and slowly cut your baseplate down to size.

4. Using your scissors or a sanding block, round the edges of the baseplate piece so there at no sharp / pointy corners.

5. Apply several mounting squares to the bottom side of your baseplate and press them down firmly to ensure they’re well adhered.

6. Peel the sticker backings off of the mounting squares, position the baseplate inside the carry case’s lid, and press it down firmly. I like to take a few minutes and really ensure a good stick here.

7. Place the dividers into the carry case to make sections for the different LEGO colours. I chose to add only two dividers – one between the green and blue sections and one between the orange and red sections.

8. Fill the carry case with LEGO! I chose to separate mine by colour because I’m a total sucker for rainbow anything, but you could do by brick type / size too! Whatever floats your boat.

And that’s it! You’ve got a DIY LEGO kit that’s perfect for taking along on the go.

What I love about this particular carry case is that the clasps are crazy strong, so I don’t worry about them flying open as the kids carry them {and inevitably fling them around – especially in Sam’s case}. Also, I feel like two clasps are always better than just one… Just in case!

The other thing I love? The lids of these particular kits open completely flat, which is so, so helpful when building. (The lids on our metal lunchbox LEGO kits have never opened flat, which can be a little annoying, just fyi.)