A $5 Kmart travel hack kept my three young children occupied on a five-hour flight

An Australian mum has revealed a ‘genius’ hack that kept her three children happy on a five-hour cross-country flight.

Vanessa, from Sydney, spent weeks dreading the hours she’d soon need to spend on a flight to Perth with her kids.

Children can be extremely fidgety and grumpy on flights – especially younger ones who struggle with sitting still for long periods of time.

But Vanessa ‘hacked the system’ when she discovered a 12-compartment organiser box from Kmart ($5.50).

The mum filled it with various snacks including pop corn, mini Oreos, chips, marshmallows, cookies, cheese, meat, and more.

She shared a photo of the hack on a popular mum’s group. 

‘A five-hour flight with three children … $5.50 multi compartment organiser for the win.’

She added, ‘The flight attendants were amazed and loved it – and the kids were happy the entire flight!’

Vanessa made sure her kids ate the cheese and sausages first so that the food didn’t spend too much time out of the fridge.

Many mums were taken aback by Vanessa’s simple idea, with several sharing that the hack is one of their favourites. 

A mum uses organisers to transport food to picnics and barbecues

‘I do something similar when I have barbecues and picnics outdoors!’ a woman wrote. ‘It’s so easy to pack and transport.’ 

‘This is brilliant!’ one said. ‘I will definitely be doing something like this if I have a long haul with my two boys.’

She added, ‘As long as they have food they are usually pretty happy, and they would love the selection of snacks on offer.’

‘Genius – this is such a handy tip! Will definitely be useful one day,’ another wrote.

‘I’m an adult and I’d love to have these many snacks on my flight,’ a woman said.

Travellers should note that while processed and cooked food is allowed on flights, you will need to eat or bin any fresh food before leaving the airport for health and safety reasons.