There are lots of ways to pass time on a trip. Of course, there are conversations, card games, listening to music, and even having sing-alongs. But my favorite way to pass the time during those long miles is with brain teasers.

Usually, we will find some free printable brain teasers on the Internet before we go on a car trip. There are all kinds of online puzzles and games available that you can either print out or play on your computer. The kids especially love them, and it is easy to find one to the right level of difficulty. Most of them are simple logic puzzles that, with a little bit of diligent work, can be quite easily resolved. Finding hard brain teasers is, of course, a little bit difficult, but it can be done.

Sudoku puzzles are a great form of brainteaser. Sudokus are basically a type of logic puzzle that has become very popular in recent years. They are different rows and columns of numbers that you have to get to match up in just the right way. The only way to do it is through trial and error. You look at the pattern, try to find numbers that match it, And work through it until you find the right combination.

Of course, one of the most classic brain teasers is the crossword puzzle. Papers all over the world have crossword puzzles, but my favorite one is in the New York Times Sunday edition. New York Times puzzles get harder and harder as the week goes on, and the Sunday New York Times always has the most difficult puzzle. I know a lot of people who spend all Sunday doing brain teasers in the Times. Now that is dedication!

If you want to get a truly great assortment of brainteasers, you have to go to a good bookstore. There are plenty of online brainteasers, but if you are a big fan you probably need to just bite the bullet and buy a book. After all, it is nice to have a whole book filled with logic puzzles so that you can go through them, page after page at your leisure. The way that I do it is to download some free puzzles on the Internet to see which ones I like. Then, when I find a style that fits me, I buy a brain teaser book. I usually have two or three for a long road trip.

Toy shopping

Here it comes – that time of the year. The time of the year when all kids are starting to make their Christmas lists and making sure their parents are up to date on all of the newest technologies and toys. It is also the time of the year when stores put more emphasis on advertising and making sure that everyone knows that their prices and sales are better than their competitors.

For some parents, such as myself, it is the season for toy shopping. I don’t enjoy it. My daughter has already started noticing all of the toys that the TV stations are advertising. She can’t write very well yet, but she’s made sure that I have already started a Christmas list for her. So it begins, toy shopping. Some parents will do it solely online. Some parents will wait in huge lines when the stores announce that a brand new, ever so popular toy hits the shelves. I have several friends who start doing their toy shopping the second that Halloween decorations disappear from the stores. Usually, they’re completely done with everything by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

Toy shopping can become rather competitive too. Those who have camped out on sidewalks in the rain and wind just to get one of the few toys that the stores have on the shelves for a few seconds, know exactly what that means. Friendly banter that takes place while waiting in line disappears the moment those stores open their doors. Suddenly, it is every man for himself and people are diving across the aisles for the last toy on the shelf. Toy shopping can become a total nightmare. If you’re lucky enough to get the great deals and hot toys online, toy shopping can be a piece of cake. That’s how I tend to do my shopping. On Black Friday, I can be sitting happily in my house, wearing my comfortable pajamas and getting all of my presents delivered right to my doorstep. I usually get the same sales that people in the stores are getting, I just don’t have the advantage of examining the toys in my hand. However, I also don’t have to carry around heavy packages, fight for parking spaces and spend entirely too much
time waiting in lines.

So, when my daughter adds a few more things to her Christmas list every time she watches TV and circles some new toys in the flyers that the stores place in local newspapers, I’ll be able to scope them out on the internet. And all of my toy shopping will be done online.