A dad who is “obsessed” with DIY has revealed how he created a McDonald’s drive-thru and traditional pub for his kids after rummaging through skips and other people’s recycling.
When Daniel Mills, 38, started a new role as an architectural assistant, with one of his clients the Golden Arches franchise, he suddenly had a creative idea.
And it involved both of his kids, Leo, nine and Zac, eight.
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The dad-of-two, from Hertfordshire, used his savvy skills to create a fully functioning playhouse drive-thru in their back garden, for less than £30.
Now, he’s sharing how you can make one, too, just in time for Christmas.
“When they saw it, they went mad with excitement,” Daniel told What’s The Jam.
“As a single dad, it is often challenging to keep them occupied.
“But then I spotted my shed, which needed some major TLC – and I had an idea.
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“I thought it would make a great playhouse, and I couldn’t help but see it as a mini drive-thru.”
Daniel, who is a DIY fanatic, gathered a stash of wood using his neighbours’ old fence that had blown down.
He also rummaged through skips, including a building site, where he found a leftover roof, which he then repurposed.
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Using some wooden slats from an old IKEA bed as cladding, he had created the base structure, before attaching wheels to the bottom so it was mobile.
To create the illusion of a real McDonald’s drive-thru, he printed off some signs to stick on and reused old logo cups, as well as Happy Meal boxes.
In total, it took only three days to complete and when it was done, he made a big reveal for his two boys.
He said: “I covered it in sheets, ripped them off and immediately, they asked if they could have breakfast there.
“And lunch, as well as dinner.
“Each weekend, we played with it constantly.
“One would stand at the hatch, while the other came through in their toy car to order – it was fantastic.
“After grilling up some burgers to act as a makeshift Happy Meal, they would sit on the picnic bench all smiles.”
Like with most children, the novelty soon wore off, though.
In a bid to keep the imaginative joy alive, he popped it on Facebook Marketplace for another child to play around in.
He claims within hours over 26,000 people were interested – including in Australia – but ultimately sold it locally for a whopping £250.
Daniel said: “I was told by many it was too cheap and some offered much, much more.
“But I had to honour the sale. It didn’t cost me anything really, so win-win.
“It was unbelievable, though, friends and family said I should make more.
“As a single parent, hearing people call you a top guy and say how lucky the kids were, meant a lot.”
Now, he’s revealed his latest creation; a traditional English playhouse pub – for the kids, of course.
He said: “I wanted to recreate the excitement and magic they had when unveiling the first project.
“Now that they’re a bit older, I had to think of something more grown up.
“And then the idea came to me.
“My parents took them to Cornwall for a week during summer and their best memory, despite the sunny weather, was a rainy afternoon spent eating fish and chips at the pub.”
Daniel bought a secondhand playhouse for £20 to repurpose.
He then brought the pub to life by including a toy fruit machine from Facebook, which he got for free, and reusing old alcohol bottles from his neighbours’ recycling to create a stocked bar.
Alongside installing some cheap, non-functional, beer taps from a man cave group on Facebook, and some mismatched wooden photo frames from a charity shop for 10p each – it was complete.
Daniel has since added two 1960s wooden classroom science stools, which he found in a school skip.
His biggest piece of advice? Always think outside the box.
He said: “You’ve got to repurpose and see objects differently.
“Most bits were salvaged, freebies or charity shop finds.
“My favourite place is the IKEA broken parts area at the end.”
Now, he’s looking toward the next project – but hopes to share his savvy DIY tips and tricks to inspire other parents ahead of Christmas.
Daniel added: “It’s the perfect time now to buy old sheds, as people are making space before the festive season.
“Use up all those half-empty fence paints and re-purpose the old pallet sitting on your neighbour’s driveway.
“If you’re patient and willing to search around, you could probably build something for next to nothing.
“Make something you know you can sell after, because it will soften the pain of throwing it away if it can be enjoyed by another person.
“You still keep the memories for free, but a few hundred quid in your pocket to take your kids on a day trip is a nice bonus.
“Role play is a massive part of kids’ learning, and spending time doing this allows them to stretch their imagination, rather than plug into a computer game for hours.
“They loved adding up the cost of the burgers and memorising orders – learning without realising.
“They’re only kids once.”
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