ManagementGo For Fun This Holiday Season  

Trainer’s Note: Feel free to reproduce and distribute this article.

I am one of those people who look forward to the New Year. I clean out the closets. I organize my office. I secretly challenge myself to write a check without writing the wrong date. I even like the idea of making a New Year’s Resolution or two.

But this year, I’m doing something different. This year I am going to forget the New Year’s Resolutions I’ve made - and broken - in years past. Eating healthier. Exercising. Getting organized. Keeping up with the house. Starting four college funds.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are all good things that I should focus on and I will, a little at a time. After all, there’s something to be said for perseverance. But, this year I want to try something new. And, instead of waiting for January 1, I’m going to start now. I am going to add more fun to my life…

Add a Laugh a Day

Think about it. Fun makes every day better and I think it’s a Resolution that would be tough to break. A few more laughs each day and I’m successful. The neat part is that unlike other New Year’s resolutions, this one can be contagious. It can impact work and home. You know the saying: laugh and the world laughs with you. How fun is that?

Let me tell you how I happened upon this brilliant idea.

A couple of weeks ago I was walking toward the doors of the grocery store as a woman whizzed by me standing on the back of her loaded shopping cart. I stopped and turned and watched her coast through the parking lot toward her car. Another customer, who had also stopped to look, said to me, “Wow, that looks like fun.”

Did it ever! When was the last time you saw a thirty-something adult zoom by you standing on the back of her shopping cart? The other customer and I both walked into the grocery store smiling.

I was inspired.

Whether you’re 18 or decades older than that, I think there is always room for a little more fun in a day and this time of year seems like the perfect time to start.

The Stress of the Holidays

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is one of my favorite times of the year. But as much as I enjoy it, there are days when I feel like I am being pulled in too many directions at one time. That may be fun for a contortionist, but a contortionist I am not. And I know I am not alone.

Statistics cite this time of year as one of the most stressful times for people at work and at home. A Wirthlin Worldwide survey on the topic of holiday stress bears that out. Of the 1,001 adults, 18 and older, fewer retirees reported increased stress for this time of year than any other age group of both genders.

It makes sense. Retirees don’t have the added demands of work during the holiday season. Many businesses place additional demands on employees: retail stores, restaurants, and airlines for example, experience increased customer traffic. For businesses with a fiscal year that ends on December 31, the holiday season represents the final profit push.

At home, people are trying to balance the added demands of family and friends. As wonderful as this time of year is, there are many additional obligations, including traditions, customs, social events and family gatherings associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s. As one of my friends put it, “It’s tough to slow down this time of year. Everything we’re doing is good, there’s just too much of it.

So the way I figure it, a couple of minutes of added fun a day would do all of us good. Although research hasn’t been able to specifically connect health benefits to laughter, most people - scientists included - agree that it’s good for us.

Here are a few ideas to add some fun to your days this holiday season. A few minutes a few laughs and, who knows, maybe you’ll feel a bit of that stress ease away. It’s working for me.

Start your morning with a laugh.

Get a daily cartoon calendar, like Gary Larson’s The Far Side or Dilbert, by Scott Adams. Or, if you have a computer, consider getting your chuckles via e-mail. Dlibert.com is sending me a strip a day. Check it out.

If you prefer variety, check out AJokeAday.com, which, according to its website is a “full-time, professionally maintained, humorous joke site that guarantees to keep all jokes and humor clean.” (Perfect for the work environment.) All I had to do was give them my e-mail address and reply when they sent me a confirmation. According to the website, it protects confidentiality and offers a way to easily unsubscribe.

Have a joke contest.
Have a “write your own joke” contest. Get your co-workers involved. If you’re a manager, round up your employees. Emphasize that it’s supposed to be fun, is purely voluntary (the last thing you want to do is add another obligation to everyone’s plate), should be appropriate for the workplace, and shouldn’t distract from work. Encourage working in pairs or groups and consider posting the jokes at the end of the day (or week).

Create your own sniglets.
If writing a joke seems like too much work, consider a sniglet contest. For those of you who slept through the sniglet craze of the 80s (or who are too young to remember), comedian Rich Hall popularized sniglets with a regular segment on the HBO comedy series Not Necessarily the News.

According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, a sniglet is defined as a “word that should be in the dictionary, but isn’t.”

If you’d rather just laugh at some of Rich Hall’s funniest instead of creating your own, you can find a lengthy collection of some of the most popular sniglets on bertc.com/sniglets.htm. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Bazookacidal Tendencies (bah zew’ kuh sy dal ten’ den seez) - n. The overwhelming desire of most individuals to reach out and pop the gigantic gum bubble billowing from someone’s mouth.
Chipfault (chip’ fawlt) - n. The stress point on a potato chip where it breaks off and stays behind in the dip.

Work, home and family offer funny fodder for making your own sniglets. Sniglets really help us laugh at ourselves. Whether you want to create your own, or enjoy what’s out there, sniglets often provide laugh out loud moments.

Mix it up.
Think about your usual routine and mix things up for a day. Matched socks? Nah. Coordinating tie? Who needs it? Eat ice cream for breakfast! Have a picnic dinner on the floor. Eat breakfast for dinner. If you read the newspaper, read the comics first.

I remember reading something a few years back about how changing something in our routine, especially a convention like wearing matched socks, can often positively impact our mood. It becomes an inside joke. I decided to give it a try.

I wore mismatched socks for several days before anyone noticed. With each passing day, I found more amusement in the thought that nobody had said anything. I’m back to matching my socks. But for a week or so, it was fun - and laundry was a lot easier.

Have a donut-tasting contest.
Bring in the donuts and have fun at the same time. You can do this at home or at work. Taste different varieties or different brands. Or have a taste-test event. It can be holiday-themed or not. It can be take-out, store-bought, or home made. Order in a cheese pizza for lunch from several different places. Have employees bring in different apples and cheeses. Vote on the town’s best lo-mien. Be creative and have fun. A quick lunch like this can help ease work tension that may have built up during the day.

Or have a cook-off. I remember an office chili cook-off that got everyone involved. It was fun and employees talked about it before and after. Choose a food, like soup, chili, or chicken wings. Have everyone bring in his or her favorite version and go from there. If there isn’t any time in December, talk about it now and plan it for January. Who knows, it may become an annual event.

Go for the zoom.
Try that shopping cart idea. If you’re too self-conscious to zip through the parking lot during daylight hours, take an evening trip to the store or go incognito. Feeling a bit daring? Take a ride in the store. You’ll save time and have fun too. But be watchful of other shoppers, especially the little ones. You wouldn’t want to take anyone out on your joy ride.

If a ride on a shopping cart is just not for you, try an execuglide. An execuglide (eks ek` yew glyd) is the act of propelling oneself about an office on a wheeled office chair to move from one place to another.

Michele Eby works for Media Partners as a writer and training advisor. She has worked in the training and development field for more than 15 years.

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