Lay-overs are always a drag but often inevitable if you want to save some cash on travel. And with airport travel delays at an all-time high, chances are that you're going to spend some length of time camped out at an airport some time soon. As a veteran of horrendous lay-overs (try 10 hours in a Korean airport on my way to Indonesia!), I rarely tug my hair from the follicles because I've mastered the art of simple entertainment. Here are some basic ideas and tips to beat the boredom and make your airport camp-out at least mildly enjoyable.

1. If you have one, bring a laptop loaded with your favorite games or make good use of the DVD player by bringing some video entertainment. The time flies when you're entranced by a movie. Most airports have ports to plug into, however, be aware that at some international airports, you'll need a plug adapter to make the entertainment last.
2. Educate yourself! If you're like me and love to expand your mind, why not look at the the layover as free time to learn a new skill? Workbooks, flash cards, books on CD/mp3...all are excellent uses of time. And if you're going to a foreign country, you'll need all the language cramming time you can get!
3. Get in some exercise. Especially if you've been on a long cross-continent journey or are anticipating one, now is the perfect time to do some gentle yoga stretches or walk some laps around the terminal. Your body will thank you later and trust me, yoga and pilates have become so trendy that nobody will think that you look like a dork.
4. Get hip to local culture. Some airports offer those sitting through longer layovers chances to get out and take a short tour of the surrounding city. Of course you'll need a relatively long layover to make this a reality given that you probably have to go through customs and security again. This was an option on my legendary Korean layover from hell.
5. Bring a good book. Ok this should be a no-brainer.
6. Treat yourself to a drink at the bar or a decent meal for a relaxing refuge. However, be ware that this does not read "treat yourself to a bar binge". Drinking too much alcohol and flying do not mix well and will lead to increased jet lag. In my experience though, indulging in a couple doesn't cause much damage and increases enjoyability of my flight. Also stay light on the food to avoid jetlag as well.
7. Check your email, write a blog, chat with friends online...no self-respecting airport these days is without an internet kiosk, so even if you are lacking a laptop, you can satisfy the need to stare vapidly at a flickering screen.
8. Last minute travel planning anyone? I always bring the travel guide for my destination along with me on the flight because in the frenzy before leaving, who really has any time to peruse these things? Ok maybe you're more organized than me...
9. Spruce up in the rest room. Now is the perfect opportunity to brush your teeth, do the hair, etc, without tying up the bathroom on the plane and doing these tasks in a room the size of a coffin.
10. Take a mini-snooze. But be careful. You'll want to set your cell phone alarm to boarding time (and be sure your cell phone works where you are) to ensure that you don't miss your flight all together. Also, I typically snooze with my carry-on luggage placed in such a fashion that if anyone tries to mess with it, it will wake me up. I put a larger suicase style peice under my feet and a backpack on my lap with my arms around it makes for a nifty pillow.