DIY LEGO Kit

11 / 28 / 19

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.)

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Take Along Activity Kit

3 / 9 / 173 / 19 / 17

Oh my goodness… Only two more days and it’s officially spring break! I’m not sure who’s more excited – Miss G or me. We’re going to work on getting some things done around the house, maybe go on some fun outings around the city, and best of all, get away just the four of us! Admittedly, getaways aren’t as elaborate as they once were {there’s no just looking at a map and picking a random nearby country to visit when you live in Canada}, but we’re finally getting a chance to better explore BC, and that’s a good thing too. Either way, my favourite part? Spending some time as a family away from our regular everyday routine. As awful as it sounds, it feels like the four of us really don’t have a ton of time to just hang out and enjoy each other’s company {which is definitely something I miss about living in Kuwait}. During the week Brad leaves for work as we’re just getting going, then there’s the morning rush, Miss G’s long day at school, and then Brad returns just in time to sit down to dinner. On a good night, there’s about 10 minutes of non-chaotic dinnertime, then B and I divide and conquer to get both kiddos washed and in bed for the night – me usually taking care of Sam and him Miss G. Most weekends, we spend one day around the house cleaning, taking care of laundry, and playing catch up from a busy week, and then on the other day we may go on a fun outing all together or split up one-parent-one-kid style in order to run errands and get things done. Either way, it’s just not enough time all together and that’s why I so look forward to our little getaways. No distractions, no chores, no daily routine to get caught up in.

EASY Portable Activity Kit for Road Trips

8 / 8 / 169 / 13 / 16

After travelling all over the world with Miss G {hello 36 hour treks to and from Kuwait!}, a six hour road trip really isn’t a big deal to us. That being said, our little lady is a huuuuuuuuuuge talker, and sometimes you just need to have a moment of quiet {or a moment to talk to your spouse} while in the car. That, and sometimes our little Sam Jam just needs a moment of silence in order to fall asleep… Big sisters’ animated stories and ramblings are much too interesting to doze off to {obviously}!

Travel Tins {portable fun for on the go}

6 / 3 / 158 / 30 / 15

Travel Tins | Mama Papa Bubba

Miss G and I recently upcycled some old, empty hand cream tins into easily portable ‘travel tins’ and they’ve been a total hit so far {despite not having travelled anywhere just yet!} Grae loves all things mini, and I’ve always got some kind of simple portable activity tucked into my bag for play on the go, so these little activity tins have been just perfect.

Colouring Page Airplane Scavenger Hunt

5 / 21 / 155 / 23 / 15

It’s hard to believe, but in exactly 23 days, we’ll board a plane and begin the long journey back to Canada. This means that I really should be focused on purging and sorting our belongings, but I can’t help it – I’m having fun creating little plane packs and travel activities for Miss G and her friends instead. ☺

LEGO Patterns Busy Box

10 / 9 / 1411 / 11 / 14

Truth be told, I’ve never loved the name ‘busy box’. Or ‘busy bag’ for that matter. It’s ridiculous, I know, but I think I associate both with the term ‘busy work’ from my teaching days, which to me, is basically work {often of very little value} that keeps kids busy and out of the teacher’s hair. Not my cup of tea. I figure that if a teacher is going to expect her students to engage in some sort of activity or work, it shouldn’t simply keep them busy {that’s a waste of time} – it should engage them, challenge them, and teach them something worthwhile along the way – right?? Well, after looking at many, many activities labeled as busy boxes or bags, I learned that most of them do all of those things. Most of them are fun, playful, and help little ones build on some sort of skill {or multiple skills at once}. And yes, they are easy to pull out during times when you’d like your little one to play quietly and/or independently {while you shower, during restaurant and doctor’s office waits, during quiet time, etc.}, but that’s only because you’ve taken the time to prep the fun in advance – not because they’re anything like boring busy work. And so, because I’ve finally made peace with the term, here’s our first busy box – a LEGO patterns busy box. ☺

Portable Car Play Kit

9 / 24 / 1411 / 11 / 14

Have I mentioned that Grae and I love putting together homemade gifts? Because we do. We love it so much in fact, that despite the fact that we had actually already purchased a gift for today’s party, we decided we would make something instead – just yesterday afternoon! Today’s birthday boy is a car lover through and through, so we used that for our inspiration. He also {like many of our international friends} is often on the go, so we decided to make him a portable car play kit so that he has a fun and easy way to take his beloved toys with him – whether it be to a restaurant, on an airplane, or over to a friend’s house.

Portable Activity Kit for Little Boys

6 / 14 / 149 / 3 / 16

I feel like Miss G and I have been making homemade gifts like they’re going out of style lately {and I love it}. This most recent one is exactly like the portable activity kit we gave her little friend Evelyn on her second birthday, only this one contains slightly different activities – things we thought a busy 3 year old would enjoy. Now obviously the activities included in this kit are not just for boys {in fact, Miss G has already announced that she’d like the activity kit I’m making her to be exactly like this one} – it’s just that we gifted this particular kit to her little friend who happens to be a boy.

Portable Activity Kit for Little Travellers

5 / 22 / 149 / 3 / 16

Another birthday party means another opportunity for Grae and I to come up with a fun, homemade gift {which we love doing}. This time around, we decided we’d put together a tinkle trunk filled with fun dress-up costumes and accessories similar to what Grae has in her dress-up station. We were really excited about the idea until we realized that the birthday girl is headed home to the States just a few days after her party. A tickle trunk simply wouldn’t do. After some brainstorming, we opted for something she could bring along on her travels – a portable activity kit! Our goal was to keep it as compact and lightweight as possible, while cramming in tons of fun {and quiet} things she could explore and play with during her travels. Here’s what we included…