How to make a DIY tablet holder for your car

You’re all packed and have plenty of snacks, but what have you planned to entertain the demanding travelers in the back? While there are many ways to keep kids entertained on a road trip – a classic game of I Spy, a singalong, an audio book – sometimes all you want is a bit of peace and quiet. And the best solution? Some good old screen time. So before embarking on a long-haul drive this silly season, download some of your kids' favourite TV shows and flicks to your iPad or tablet, and make this handy back-of-seat holder to turn your car into a personal cinema. It's a parenting win.

This holder can be made on the super cheap – all you'll need is a large pencil case with a clear plastic front, a Texta, some ribbon (about 2.5m, to be safe) and a hole punch. Oh, and a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon. But that's it! Obviously you'll need to find a see-through pencil case that's big enough to show the entire screen without obstruction. Failure to attend to this important detail is a recipe for backseat armageddon.

Cut your length of ribbon in half. Scissors usually help with this.

Hold the pencil case behind the front seat of your car and line it up with the headrest. Mark each side of the pencil case with a dot underneath the headrest's posts, about an inch down – this is where you need to punch your holes.

Punch away! It's not quite as much fun as popping bubble wrap, but it's satisfying nonetheless.

Grab a length of ribbon and fold it in half. Feed the fold through one set of punched holes, and pull it through enough to form a small loop. Then pass the ends of the ribbon through the loop, and tug to tighten. Repeat on the other side.

Bonus tip: If you want to be #fancy, you can even seal your ribbon ends to ensure they don't fray. Briefly hover each end close to (but not touching) a small flame until it melts slightly. Make sure the ends don't burn.

Now you're cooking. Take your new creation into your car and tie it to the back of your front seat, making sure it's on the same side as your kid sits and fastened at a convenient viewing height. They'll be pretty annoyed if they have to crane to see the screen.

Herd your fam into the car, cue a video and pop your tablet into its new holder, and you're good to go. It's also probably a good idea to plug in some headphones – it might be a bit hard for the kids to hear their show without them.

And that's it. We told you it was easy.

BTW, one final word of advice: A pencil case with a separate clear-windowed compartment – like the one we found – is the most suitable kind for this hack. Why? Because you can zip your tablet in and out without having to untie the holder. Gotta love such an easy (hmm… lazy?) solution.

See it come to life in our carsales Car Hack video.

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