Fun Ways To Enjoy The Holidays

by Roz Trieber, MS, CHES

“If I had no sense of humor, I should long ago have committed suicide.” __Mahatma Gandhi

Holidays and family gatherings often produce more stress than fun and joy. In order to survive, we need our sense of humor more than ever before.  Research indicates that as stressful events increased, individuals with a high ability to use coping humor showed less of an increase in disturbed moods. Another study reveals that these individuals report higher levels of self-esteem, and that coping humor has positive effects on the immune system.  It is really impossible to be upset or angry and smile and laugh at the same time. 

Try this on for size.  Practice making your favorite smile.  Then think of a current stressful situation.  Feel your muscles tighten, your hands sweating, and your heart beating faster.  Now put on that happy face, raise your hands in the air and yell “I’m depressed!”  Did you laugh or lose that angry feeling?  You cannot stay upset for very long.  You just had a brain “melt down,” which allowed your mood to change and give you an opportunity to turn that stressed feeling into desserts.

GET HOOKED ON HUMOR FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Make an agreement with members of your family or friends to greet each other with a joke, cartoon or anecdote when you get together for the holidays. Sometimes even call each other on the phone if you haven't gotten together in awhile.

An idea from Bernie DeKoven of DeepFun.com got my attention.  Give all of your guests a “Silly Putty” egg. Yes, this is the same Silly Putty that has been around for 30 years. The clay-like stuff that bounces and stretches and picks up ink. Of course, now you can get Silly Putty in glow-in-the-dark colors. But it still feels like putty. And it’s still something that is clearly silly.  And it’s also something that people can play with for hours. Roll it. Mold it. Bounce it. Consciously. Semiconsciously. Something that embraces playfulness and creativity. Something with enough flexibility, enough  controllability, enough tactile complexity to keep the hands busy and the mind free, all day. 

At the dinner table or as family and friends mingle; ask them to share with each other when they have the most fun.  Then ask for volunteers to share their experiences. You will be able to taste the fun.  A variation of this activity involves your guests sharing their favorite game as children.  Even if you have children at your house, ask them their favorite game or song and play the game or sing their songs. Everyone will increase their humor quotient.

Create your own Family and Friends Laughter Circle. This is a variation of a World Laughter Tour activity.   Gather everyone in a circle. Choose someone to be the leader.  The leader explains humor is the single most important communication strength.  Laughter is a form of tacit approval. Nothing builds rapport faster than humor.  It transcends all prejudice and pre-judgments. When you make other people laugh, they want to be in your presence. 

The leader then demonstrates two types of laughter.  The leader tells everyone to look each other in the eye, put their hands in a prayer position and say “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha, Ha (slow, slow, fast, fast, fast).  Everyone practices and then everyone picks up the beat and repeats the Ho, Ho, Ha ,Ha, Ha, for 5 repetitions. The leader than shows the group how to do an ice cube laugh.  The leader acts out dropping a make believe ice cube down his/her back and squiggles around as if the ice cube were going all around the body.  As the leader makes these movements, s/he laughs out loud as silly as can be.  The leader asks the group to follow suit.  The leader can then ask if anyone has other suggestions for additional types of laughter with gestures.  Everyone has a hilarious time and feels energized and connected. 

Your holidays do not need to be stressful.  Enjoy every moment and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Visualize how you want to feel as you celebrate peace and love during this holiday season.

 

Roz Trieber works with organizations to reduce stress and increase productivity using humor and improvisation. For more information on Roz ’s speaking programs, books, cd's and learning programs contact HUMORFUSION at 410.998.9585 or Roz@humorfusion.com. (www.humorfusion.com)

© 2004 Copyright by Roz Trieber and Trieber Associates, Inc.


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