I know you've been there! Waiting at a restaurant for your food to arrive and hearing that non-stop question - "when is our food going to get here?!" Well, I've collected dozens of ideas from across the net (out of necessity!) and compiled them into a list for you (and me!) to pull out when the need arises!
Here they are! You can also download a printable sheet to tuck in your bag. :)
1. Word Association - The first person says a word (for instance, “grass”) and the next person comes up with a related word (such as “green”) and so on…
2. Tell jokes - think of your best ones or make some up! Knock, knock, etc…
3. Pictionary - No, you don’t have to bring the whole game along - just start drawing something and have your kids guess what it is!
4. Which hand is it in? - use a pack of sugar, your straw trash, or a piece of your napkin - it doesn’t matter! Whoever guesses correctly gets to hide it next!
5. Lip Reading - Mouth words, songs, or phrases and see who can guess what you are “saying.”
6. Rock, Paper, Scissors!
7. House of Cards - Build a house of cards using sugar packets.
8. Tic Tac Toe - Don’t have paper? Make a board out of straws or knives and then use Splenda and Sweet n Low packets for Xs and Os.
9. Chopsticks Challenge - crumple up little bits of napkin or paper and see who can move them the fastest with the chopsticks from one pile to another. Don’t have chopsticks? Use two straws. Have little ones? Bend one straw in half to make it easier.
10. Toothpick creations - create letters or pictures using toothpicks.
11. Origami - learn at least a couple of things you can make out of paper to entertain or teach the kids.
12. Coin Count - take the coins out of your purse or pocket and practice counting money! Ask kids how to make 32 cents with the fewest coins possible or to give you a dollar’s change from a 42 cent purchase, etc.
13. 20 Questions - think of something in your head and give the other players 20 yes/no questions to ask you in order to guess it.
14. Beginning and Ending - “I’m thinking of a word that begins with Z and ends with O - what is it?” Whoever guesses gets to go next.
15. Scattergories on-the-go - Think of a category and then try to come up with a word in that category for every letter of the alphabet. Take turns around the table or collaborate - whichever works best.
16. Doodle game - someone makes a doodle on paper and the next person has to turn it into something.
17. Would you rather..? - Make up silly questions to ask your kids!
18. What If…? - Make up a scenario while looking around the room and let the kids carry out the story. For example, “What would happen if the power went out?”
19. Pick-up Stix - using toothpicks!
20. Round Robin - Start telling a story using just one sentence and then rotate through each person allowing them to add one sentence. Could get quite interesting!
21. I Spy - make it more or less challenging based on the ages of your kids.
22. Memory Quiz - group objects from the table (silverware, salt shaker, sugar packs, etc.) or from your bag and give kids 10 seconds to look at them. Have them look away while you remove one object. The first one to guess what’s missing gets to arrange the next round.
23. Twistie ties or pipe cleaners - Save those produce bag ties for your purse or grab a pack of pipe cleaners and let the kids create! I’ve witnessed some seriously cool creations!
24. Card game - keep a favorite in your bag! Uno, Phase 10, Skip-Bo - whatever works!
There were plenty of additional ideas that involved either excessive wasting of consumables that belong to the restaurant or making too much noise or just otherwise didn't fit into my idea of what's appropriate to do in a restaurant, so I didn't include them. ;) That doesn't mean there aren't more good ideas out there! If you have others, please do share in the comments!
Hope this takes the pain out of waiting for all of us!
