Forever Queuing
There are few places I wander in life that doesn’t involve standing in a queue. Although, I am told that as an English person I could be alone and still form an orderly queue of one! Over Easter the family and I took a short trip to Amsterdam, between the airport and various tourist attractions we found ourselves in many queues. We even bought Stroopwaffles from one shop simply because there was a queue outside it! Our logic was as followed; if there was a queue at 8pm then it must be a good Stroopwaffle. And it was.
It was whilst we were stood in our 134th queue, waiting patiently for access to the Tony’s Chocolate Superstore (worth a visit btw) that we came to a realisation. You can buy activity books for how to stay entertained on a plane, in a car, on a train, at the beach, but we have never come across one for a queue. This seems rather remiss to me, considering the sheer amount of time we as a nation are in queues. Often in those queues with children or bored friends.
Whilst I believe there is a possibility I’m being somewhat old school, forgetting that a vast majority now stand in the queues looking at their phones for entertainment, I think there is a gap in the market here. There is a joy in connecting with people away from the phones, and a joy in creating memories in what otherwise would otherwise be rather mundane.
Bringing the Fun
If I’m wrong I don’t mind, this creative problem solving exercise has benefitted me and my family, so I think I’m already winning. On the off chance I could help you too I thought I’d put together 10 Boredom Busting Queue activities. These are simple, zero equipment needed activities you can pull out of your own head when called upon. Each activity is easily adapted to suit the age group you are with, making them perfect for long festival, rides, chocolate shop or toilet queues!
Let’s pop down the phone, put away the whining and whap out the fun! If you like what you read why not bookmark the page so you can come back to it when you need the inspiration.
10 Boredom Busting Queue Activities
The Love Hate Game
This game asks how well you know each other! Do you know if your friends love or hate peanut butter or their opinion on Taylor Swift? You definitely will after this fun queue game. One person starts the game off by saying a food, place, celebrity, genre of music/books/film etc, the rest of the group must quickly shout out whether they believe the speaker loves or hates what they’ve said. Once everyone has shouted their answer out, the speaker reveals the true answer. Laugh, groan, acted surprised and move on to another person in the group.
Palm Drawing
Perfect for two or three of you to play. A player holds up their hand so their palm is facing the other player. The other player is the writer, they must write letters on the palm using their finger and the player being written on must guess the letter. You could adapt this to be guess the word, with the writer forming one letter at a time and the person being drawn on has to piece the word together.
Rock, Paper, Scissors – A Classic
What queue, waiting room or general day to day life would be complete without this brilliant game being brought out? My 1950s cookbook contains a delicious looking pie recipe, step one is simply ‘Make the pastry’. Just like that cookbook assumes the reader knows how to make pastry without any further instructions, I am doing the same with you and this game. If, however, if you do need more information on how to play rock, paper, scissors then please do get in touch.
I Spy – A Classic
Talking of classics, I couldn’t write this list without putting I Spy in here. As a family we sometimes change it up to be I spy with my little eye something that’s the colour… Simply because letters eventually become boring. Have you ever played what I call I Spy Extreme? Wait, if it really was extreme I believe it should really be called I Spy Xtreme! I Spy Xtreme is where you play with someone who isn’t with you. It is a phone game really, so not in keeping with this list, however as I’m talking games and I cannot see another reason I would need to talk about I Spy I figured I’d mention it here. You are allowed to give the person you’re playing with a clue as to your location, you know, just to help them narrow THE WORLD down. It is actually good fun, and a great way to pass the time if you’re on your own and want a small giggle.
One Minute to List It
The only game I will permit you to get your phone out for. Pick a theme and everyone must list as many items in that category within a minute. Use the timer on your phone for accuracy. If you’re need of theme ideas I’ve got you covered:
- Spring
- Football Players
- Countries beginning with B
- Dog Breeds
- Times tables (my youngest’s suggestion!)
- Division (also my youngest’s suggestion)
- Harry Potter Characters
- Tony’s Chocolate bar flavours
The Alphabet Game
I’m not entirely sure if that’s the official title. There may be other ‘The Alphabet Games’ out there that are much more official, however this is one we play and it is the title we have given it and so I am calling it The Alphabet Game for this blog. As per the others, it is a simple game, rather similar to I Spy in so much as you must use your eyes for it. The aim of the game is to build up the alphabet. You start with A, naturally, and only move onto the next letter once you have either found an item beginning with the letter you’re looking for, or can see the letter itself in a sign. I was dubious when we first played this game, however it has now become a family staple.
Build a story
Have you ever played the game that involves you writing a sentence or short paragraph on a piece of paper, fold it over leaving only the last few words exposed and pass it on for the next person to complete the succeeding sentence? You continue doing this until you have a finished story. This is exactly that, however there is no paper, or pen. People verbally express their parts of the story until you have a complete one, saying only 1-2 sentences at a time before the next person must pick up where it was left off.
Just Talk
My eldest suggested this activity. They were very insistent it must go in, and so I have followed orders. Apparently we get few opportunities in our busy lives to just talk and they loved the idea that when we’re stuck in a queue or waiting around we could just talk to each other. A simple and lovely idea. They said it would be a great challenge to find out something you never knew about each other. I couldn’t agree more.
What was the best…?
A game that could divide or unite you as a group! Someone asks ‘What was the best…’ and finishes with an item that will trigger excitable reactions. For example;
- What was the best pizza you’ve ever had?
- What was the best hotel you’ve stayed in?
- What was the best concert you’ve been to?
- What was the best ice cream you’ve eaten?
- What was the best nap you’ve ever had?
- What was the best moment of our holiday so far?
Try Not to Laugh
Try not to laugh challenges are all over YouTube and even the premise for the Prime TV shows Last One Laughing. Now you can bring this basic, and fun concept to your queue life. The idea is simple, don’t laugh, whilst at the same time you must try to make the other people laugh. If you smile or laugh you are out. The person who never laughs wins. In the spirit of transparency, me and my entire family are rubbish at this game. As soon as we say go to begin the game my face goes. It doesn’t stop us playing it though. The dream is that one day I’ll be the queen of not laughing!
More Blog