Kitting out my loser-cruiser is important to me as I want to have some hold on cool. I always said I'd never have a soccer mom car and yet here I am nearly 15 years later with a minivan! Ok it's a Ford focus C-max so still on the cooler side of the minivans! We made a family trip to Cornwall the year before last and as it was a 5 hour drive so I had to come up with some ideas to keep my then 5 year old busy. I went out to the shops a week or so before the trip thinking a portable DVD player would be ideal. If I could find an affordable one then he could watch films in the car and also at the house we were to stay at.

I managed to find one in my price range. The one I chose was 9" and had a wall charger, car charger and extra battery. The extra battery has never done its job and refuses to ever charge but we've always had a wall plug or car plug nearby so no problem.

What I need:
My son has a tendency to fall asleep on long drives and I didn't want him falling asleep with the DVD player on his lap and in addition the DVD player heats up after being used for extended periods of time so I didn't want the heat directly on his little legs so I went in search of something to hold it to the seat in front of him.

The one:
For just short of £15 I found a Case Logic DVD player case that was exactly what I was looking for. I had seen some others slightly cheaper in the internet but I had 2 days left before the trip so I had to get it in shop or risk not receiving it in time. I tried the DVD player in it in store and it fit perfectly. At the risk of sounding a bit dorky I was chuffed with the extra bits this kit came with. Two headphones with volume controls, a DVD case that holds about 12 DVDs so you'll be spoilt for choice whilst on the go and a bunch of cable ties (haven't really used these but some people might find them useful). One great thing about this case is that it easily holds everything like a laptop case would so when you're leaving the car you can pack it away and out of sight. Thankfully the case is well padded because my young man dropped it down the stairs before we'd even left the house (with the DVD player in it!). No damage done thankfully.

The Fit:
The Ford Focus C-Max has trays on the back of the front seats which came in handy on this trip. First thing in the morning my son had the much needed start to a trip ... McDonalds Breakfast! Yum yum! But afterwards I kept the tray up and let the case rest on it and put one strap around the tray and one around the headrest. With the tray the case and DVD player fit perfectly. Without the tray I would have to have had the second strap around my seat lower down and I can only imagine that it would have been a bit uncomfortable. I know you're probably looking at the photo up top and thinking what is she on about as the straps seem to perfectly fit around the headrest alone! Well I've tried doing this and it doesn't work for me. Maybe it's the shape of my car headrests but from what I can tell they are pretty standard so maybe it's me then!

Double Trouble:
I now have two children so the two headphones will come in handy. I tried to attach the case in the middle with one strap on each of the front seats as per the instructions but it kept slipping off. I don't have a middle bit in between the two front seats to put the DVD player on so currently if we go away the DVD player is on my elder son's side and then we slightly angle it so the other one and have a watch too. We found it a lot easier to just leave the volume on and not use the headphones at all as the little one is too young to understand the concept. I think in a year or so when I get a new car I will look into those built in player headrests that can you just slip the DVD player into and then you can lift the bit of fabric to hide it away afterwards. They look very cool (dork again, sorry!).

A friend of mine has a similar case for her player and she puts the strap on each seat but has it going through the underside of the headrest in-between the two bits that hold it to the seat which she says works well. I am yet to try this method but will give it a go next time we go away which will hopefully be soon as I could do with a break.

All in all:
This case and accessories was a great find and still helps when we need to go for a drive or go over the Grandmas where there is nothing for the kids to watch when they get fed up with the toy cars. Given they'll play with those cars for hours but once sleepy starts to take over you need some Ben 10 or Scooby Doo to keep the calm.

A good case with easy for children to use headphones and with the volume control on each one they can listen to it at their own level and not fight!

© oioiyou 2010