10 Tuesday: 10 things to do when you're bored

We know the feeling. Sometimes you're with your friends and you've binge-watched all of Netflix, done your best karaoke, put the world to rights and everything in between. Then, someone comes out with that dreaded question:

"So what do you want to do now?"

We've come up with 10 answers to that question to get you and your friends trying something a little different - and help you to banish boredom forever!

1) Make up a game

The best games are made up when bored, and you'll find yourself constantly going back to them. You could try a game of 'higher or lower’ with your favourite band's place in the charts, guessing the population of countries, or going through the A-Z of a certain category. Often they aren’t complicated, but making up a game is a sure fire way of stopping boredom! The TV show Taskmaster is a great starting place for making up games. Take a look at this Reddit post for a few fun ideas too, like 'get an egg as far as you can without using your hands!'

2) People watch
This is one of my favourite things to do. Go sit in a café, get yourself a nice drink and watch the world go by. Pick a person or a group and decide who they are, what brought them to this spot, how many animals they have, what their job/favourite TV show/opinion on Aliens is. Costs nothing except the drink!

3) ‘And another thing...’
This is a made up game that my friends play, where you pick a random topic and force your friend to rant about it for as long as possible. The smaller the thing, the better! When they start running out of complaints you can jump in with 'another thing'. Some examples you could try are seagulls, the fact that cheques still exist, why your cat wants to go outside again when you've just let them in (never mind the fact there's a perfectly good cat flap in the other door!). The more insignificant the topic, the funnier the rant can be!

4) ‘A thing I like about...’
Opposite to the previous one, this time you have to try and list as many good things about a random subject as possible. Once again, the smaller and pettier the topic, the better!

Side note: this can be a really good way of forcing yourself to think optimistically about something while you're struggling with stress or just everyday life. It forces you to think of at least a couple of things that are good.

5) Changing room dress up
Trying on a bunch of clothes can be more fun than you think! Go to a shop and try and find the worst outfit combination, or wear as many colours as possible. The possibilities are only as endless as your imagination. Create the best outfit for an undercover mission; make a cosplay; put together a “beach formal” or “futuristic” look. Places like TK Maxx and Primark are best for this because you get such a large range of clothes to try! Don't forget to take photos to compare outfit choices and decide who won.

Of course, make sure you remember to neatly place any clothes you try on back onto their hangers before handing them to staff. You could be even more helpful by offering to return the clothes where you found them! Who knows, you might even find a bargain to buy.

6) Find the most unsuitable present
The title says it all! We worry so much about finding the right present, why not de-stress and try and find something that the other person would hate, or that just doesn't make sense. Got a friend that hates a certain music artist? See if you can find them some top quality memorabilia. I've got a friend who really doesn't like the singer Robbie Williams. When we saw a life-size cardboard cut-out of him online for £5, we couldn't resist buying it and putting it in their room for them to find! It not only widens your options but can be a good giggle too.

7) What would I do if [x] happened now?
How would you survive if a zombie apocalypse happened now? Or if everyone in the world apart from you and your friend disappeared? What if you won millions on the lottery? Would you rather have £2,000,000 in £1 coins in a silo that CANNOT be put into a bank or £100,000 in the bank?

Try and think through a variety of scenarios. You can be as silly or as whimsical as you want! If you need some ideas, this post has a whole 127.

8) 'The floor is lava'
An oldie but a goodie. Imagine that the floor is made of molten lava - you can’t touch it, so if you want to move around, you’re going to have to get creative!

9) Bake a cake
Not only is it something to do, but you get to eat cake at the end! Have a go at a showstopper from The Great British Bake Off (take a look at some of the recipes here). Baking with friends can be a great laugh.

10) Pick a badge to do together
There are loads of badges out there! My best friend and I are currently doing a 'Teddy Bear’s Picnic' one. We've also done ladybirds, everything to do with the letter P, and a couple of London-based ones. You'll easily be able to find something that you can do. Adapt the challenge to suit you and have fun. It stops the boredom and makes your camp blanket look even more impressive - win-win!

Hopefully, with these boredom busters, you'll never have to ask "what do you want to do now?" again! The best part is that many of these ideas can be taken anywhere and played with anyone. So whether you're at home, school, work, in a queue or travelling, and whether you're with people you already know or looking to make new friends, give them a go!