Ways to Kill Time Waiting in Line While Shopping

During the holiday season you are going to spend a lot of time in lines when shopping. For some sales such as Black Friday sales and early morning sales you'll need ways to kill hours in line. This guide provides entertainment options.

Meet Others

One way to kill time is to get to know the others around you in line. Play a group game such as a trivia competition. Bring a list of Thanksgiving, Christmas or other winter holiday trivia questions with you when you get in line. Divide up into teams and choose one person to ask the questions. The team that gets the most answers correct is the winner. A small prize can be offered such as the winning team being in the front of the line out of the group of people playing the game.

Games

Social games are another option. If you are shopping with a group of friends, you might decide to play a game to see how well you know each other, or think you know each other. Come up with questions such as who in the group is the most outgoing, adventurous, shy, willing to try new food and other similar questions. Each person writes down his answer on a piece of paper and reveals the answer. Anyone matching the most popular answer gets a point, and the person who gets the most votes for each question gets a point as well. This is another game that requires limited supplies, just a few pencils and a pad of paper. Don't forget to clean up your paper and throw it away on the way into the store.

Cards

A deck of cards provides another form of entertainment while waiting in line. You can play a game by yourself such as a game of solitaire. You could also involve your line mates in a game of cards such as a game of rummy, canasta or poker. A deck of cards makes a good item for entertaining yourself in line because it is small and can be placed in your pocket when you are done.

Music & Movies

Music and movies are another way to entertain yourself, if you don't want to interact with the others around you in line. Bring a small portable device such as an iPhone that can play music and movies. Don't forget to bring a pair of headphones with you so you don't disturb the others in line.

If you want a larger screen you can bring an item such as a laptop computer, netbook or iPad to watch a movie on. These items are a little bulkier than a phone though, so you will need to be prepared to carry them with you once you start shopping. Placing them back in your vehicle might make you a target for a nearby thief looking to pick up his own holiday present while you are inside shopping.