Ways to Kill Time in a Restaurant Till the Order Arrives:
Scouring the internet for ideas on how to keep yourself engaged and kill boredom in a restaurant until the order arrives? Read on. It is not everyday that we eat out. We frequent restaurants not just for the food, but a wholesome ‘dining out’ experience. If boredom dominates the time you wait for your food, it defeats the purpose of having resorted to a restaurant for food.
Although we dine out with friends and family, sometimes we just fall short of ideas on how to stay occupied or pass time till the order arrives. Even a 15 minute wait for the food might seem endless. Here, we have spelt out certain ideas that will certainly work in your favour when you are waiting with pangs of hunger in a restaurant.
1) Do origami If you are in a group, hand over tissue papers to the people at your table. Give them the name of an object that they are expected to recreate. Give them 5 minutes. Start the countdown. See how many of them are good at origami. Before visiting the restaurant, you could create a short list of 10 items that can be done through origami even by beginners. If cloth napkins are available at the table, you could also spend time folding them in different ways (either individually or as a group). Such creative exercises aide in keeping boredom at bay.
2) Find the missing lyric Select a popular song of your choice. Start playing it to your family or friends at the restaurant. Stop the music at a certain point and ask someone to continue singing from that lyric onwards. Whoever gets the highest score wins the title of ‘lyric laureate’. Ensure that you do not play your music loudly. It might annoy the others at the restaurant. If playing the music is not possible, just sing the lines to your fellow diners and ask them to find missing words.
3) Word connector Start by naming any object that you see in the restaurant. Each one gets a turn in mentioning another name or object that is in some way related to the word told by the previous person. This is a real brain racking game that always involves thought and reasoning. It can help you combat boredom and even before you realize it, your scrumptious food is already on the table.
4) Two sides of the tale Think of a short sequence involving two to three characters. You could even take up a scenario that the family actually experienced. State the situation to the people at the table and ask them to narrate how there could be two sides to the same tale. Co-diners could elaborate on what would be the consequences if the characters reacted in a thoughtful manner or impulsive manner. “What if mom had agreed to her daughter’s relationship?” “What if dad had resigned his job due to stress?” “Had the 18 year old boy become a breadwinner!”
5) Such storytelling exercises can actually help people look beyond situations and understand human psychology. If adolescent children are at the table, such stories can help them empathize with elders in a better way.
6) Snippets Do a pre-research before heading to the restaurant. Find interesting snippets about the locale, its history, the restaurant and cuisines that are unique to the place. You could let your family and friends know about these unknown, yet, interesting facts.
7) Tongue Twisters: You could pick at least 10 tongue twisters and ask people to tell them repeatedly at a great speed. It, definitely, will turn into a laugh riot and make you yearn for many more such gatherings outside home.
8) Silverware art Try using all the forks, spoons, knives and other cutlery available on the table to create an art masterpiece. You could create simple alphabets, small words or even certain kinds of art that your artistic fellow diners would appreciate.
9) Love notes Is there anyone who would not love being praised? Write short love notes about people who would be dining with you. Mention why they are very special to you. Also tell them why you always need them by your side. Narrate instances when they stood by you or stood up for you. Do not forget to film them so that such emotional moments are saved for eternity. Ensure you do not repeat them with the same crowd time and again. Make it a surprise always. Try it with different groups at different times. People would begin to love eating out with you.
10) Nicknames Identify people in the restaurant - either the staff or other guests like you. You and your friends could set out by bestowing them with nicknames. Remember to be funny during this exercise and not rude. This game is primarily to kill time and not demean people.
11) The long lost friend Ask someone at the table to volunteer and tell others about a friend who had been very close to their heart in the past and with whom they have completely lost touch. Ask them questions about why that friend or person is so special, what they would do if they met them in the future, what kind of a conversation they would have with each other. This can move many people to tears and help you lose track of time. You also help a person relook their past and express their hidden thoughts and emotions. These are a few ideas that we could think of. If you have other simple, yet great ideas that can be tried while waiting for food at a restaurant, drop in a mail to us or leave your comments below. Never permit your waiting time to overwhelm you with feelings of hunger or impatience. Good luck with your fine dining experience.
