I’m a mum & I always pack a 16p item to keep my kids entertained on holiday

A MUM has revealed the cheap way she keeps her kids entertained while on holiday.

Keeping children occupied can be difficult at the best of times and an added stress while travelling.

Mum and travel show presenter Samantha Brown has revealed one of her favourite tips via her Instagram account, where she often shares how she keeps her kids happy.

Standing with a balloon in her hand, she says: "When my kids were really young, I used to always travel with a few uninflated balloons.

"This is a great toy, it takes up no room in your bag and it can be instantly inflated when a child needs to work off a lot of pent up energy, which is a lot.

"It's better than a ball because you can hit a balloon as hard as you want and it never travels that far and it really doesn't harm anything.

"When you travel you just have a lot of long waits ahead of you.

"To have something that can create a diversion is really nice to have."

Samantha admits that the balloon is not a solution that works in every situation, but said that there are plenty of opportunities when it does.

She said it's for each parent to work out when it could be useful.

She said: "Is it really good for every situation? No of course it's not.

"You have to really suss this out for yourself."

One of the best things about the balloons is how affordable they are.

A can be picked up for as little as £3.99, working out at just under 16p per balloon.

Samantha also recently revealed why you should never board the plane first when travelling with kids.

This mum also shared a cheap travel hack she uses to keep her kids occupied during flights.