Laughter Tips

1. Laugh together for 5-10 min. each morning.

2. Do one loving and light-hearted thing for each other each day.

3. Point out the day's absurdities to each other.

4. Seek out the humor in serious situations and share it with each other.

5. Put more fun into sex.

6. Consciously smile at each other more.

7. Stay playful in your interaction by keeping your voices and body language playful.

8. Renew your "real vows" once a week.  (See The Belly Laughter Workbook.)

9. Take turns being responsible for the humorous thought for the day.

10. Giggle together right before going to sleep.

11. Play "Teasing Telephone Tag" by leaving outrageous messages.

12. Have a laughter match to see who can laugh loudest and longest.

13. Surround yourself with flowers. "The earth laughs in flowers." Emerson.

14. Practice laughing without control. Spit out food, wet your pants, wet each other's pants.

15. Echo each other's laugh. Laugh each time your partner laughs.

16. Count the number of times you laugh each day. Compete and share them.

17. Tell each other how much you enjoy the other's laughter and sense of humor.

18. Develop a fictional phone menu for different laughs. Press 1 for giggles, press 2 for chuckles, press three for   guffaws, etc.

19. List the positive things in your day each day and read them to each other.

20. Play together one hour a week. Examples: Sing, dance, race each other, give exaggerated hugs, count smiling faces when driving together.

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Laughter Tips for the Workplace

1. Look for the funny things that always exist like typos, the funny actions of your co-workers, your own funny behavior.

2. Give your projects comical names like Quasimoto or Thumper.

3. Have mindless toys on your desk and take short breaks to play with them.

4. Wear a funny hat to express or change your attitude.

5. Use cartoons to help with communication.

6. Play with the idea of stress--learn to celebrate it.

7. Laugh with your co-workers for a few minutes for no real reason at all.

8. Under your clothes, wear a T-Shirt with a saying that lightens you up.

9. Find playful ways to lighten up conflict with co-workers, ie., Certain toys that diffuse conflict; develop lightly humorous things to think or say; use comical visualizations that help you keep perspective.

10. Exaggerate and play with the issues that annoy you most.

11. Incorporate elements of a game into your work. For example, give yourself a prize for completing a project; divide the project into a football field and see each stage of completion as a first down; give yourself a cheer; develop a ritualized, playful way of turning on your computer.

12. Laugh for 5 min. in your car on the way to work.

13. Wear light-hearted, temporary tattoos that help you cope.

14. Wear a light-hearted tie, scarf,  or some other kind of clothing that will help you feel good and playful. Wear funny underwear if it is a serious day or meeting and outer attire must match accordingly.

ÓEnda Junkins, 3200 N. Macarthur Blvd., Ste. 106, Irving, Tx  752062, www.laughtertherapy.com. (972) ALL LAFF (255-5233)

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Tips for More laughter in Your Life

1. Practice laughing 5 min/day. Fake it till you make it.

2. Look for humor around you--on signs, in people's behavior, on TV, in the newspaper, the things others say, the crazy things that  happen to you.--Keep a journal.

3. Share your embarrassing moments with other people.

4. Learn to play with things that are serious like work, social issues, money, etc. For example, use word play, silly songs, or develop a comical view of the issue to help you laugh and cope.

5. Laugh with other people when they laugh.

6. Wear a smile. It puts you closer to laughing.

7. Seek out entertainment which makes you laugh.

8. Amuse yourself with your own sense of humor.

9. Buy and listen daily to a tape of laughter, a laugh box, or a laughing toy.

10. Buy mindless toys that make you laugh.

11. Wear hats that make you laugh.

12. Cultivate your innate playfulness.

13. Be creative with fun.

14. Make sure you have fun.

15. Give yourself permission to laugh at anything you need to.

16. Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing a day.

ÓEnda Junkins, 3200 N. Macarthur Blvd., Ste. 106, Irving, Tx  752062, www.laughtertherapy.com. (972) ALL LAFF (255-5233)

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Holiday Laughter Tips for Relationships

   1. Play laughter tapes or CDs on the stereo so laughter rings through the house.--It's contagious.

    2. Decorate the Christmas tree with smiley faces.

    3. Make Scrooge cookies and eat one every time you feel grouchy.

    4. Go shopping together and make it a merry scavenger hunt. Split the list and the first one to finish gets to do nothing for one whole day leading up to Christmas.

   5. Greet each other every evening with a HO, HO, HO and a hug.

    6. Turn getting the kid's gifts ready into a party.--Have cheese, wine, and cake while you wrap and put things together.

    7. Hang gobs of mistletoe around the house and remember to kiss each other every time you're under it.

    8. When watching football, body paint your upper torsos with Christmas symbols like Santa, holly, or wreaths.

    9. Give the gift of help with a great big laugh and a positive attitude.

    10. Make a Santa's Bag with all the Christmas chores gift-wrapped inside. Each partner draws a gift a day and does the chore with uproarious laughter.

    11. List the dysfunctional characteristics of each partners family of origin (also known as a FOO) and think of ways to enjoy all those points of irritation.

    12. Make up characteristics of a schizophrenic couple which must split it's personality between two families (FOOs). "Two for FOOand FOO for two...."

    13. Prepare eggnog laced with tranquilizers for you and your children. If you don't laugh, you won't miss it.

    14. Make up a Christmas carol that playfully speaks to the headaches of the holidays, ie., "Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to do a thousand things a day."

    15. Every time you say holidays or Christmas to each other--laugh.

    16. Make little clay figures of the relatives and vent your frustrations together on the clay.

    17. Every morning laugh together for five minutes. Fake it till you make it.

    18. When being affectionate or passionate with each other pretend to be Santa and Mrs. Claus and laugh a lot.

    19. Tell each other the good, warm, funny things about Christmases past.

    20. Tell each other embarrassing stories about Christmas or the holidays.

    21. Sing Christmas carols loudly and with exaggerations and embellishments like falsetto voices.

    22. Go to the mall together and count smiling faces.

    23. Start a holidays support group for recovering Scrooges.

    24. Practice being a little child with each other so when you visit your FOO, you'll remember how to act.

    25. Give each other gifts which are things you want and aren't practical. Show great appreciation.

    26. Stick cheery Christmas love notes in surprising places for each other to find.

    27. Wear funny, crazy Christmas hats like antlers or holly wreaths.

    28. Revel together in the materialism of Christmas and make a list of the good things about being broke.

    29. Tell each other every day, "Its the holidays and I still love you, doodah, doodah."

    30. Go to the mall and tell Santa what you each want for Christmas. Don't forget to sit in his lap. Be silly. Enjoy it.

    31. On New Year's Eve, watch the ball drop in Time Square while looking upside down. That way the ball goes up, not down and will portend a "up" year.

ÓEnda Junkins, 3200 N. Macarthur Blvd., Ste. 106, Irving, Tx  752062, www.laughtertherapy.com. (972) ALL LAFF (255-5233)

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Twelve Reasons Christmas Is Better Than Sex

12.    The only turkey in the house is on the dinner table.

11.     The only spontaneous surprises come down the chimney.

10.     When we strip off the wrapping, we are always excited by what's inside.

9.       The only thing expected to be in mint condition are the candy sticks.

8.       Overweight people are in!

7.       The only thing frigid is the weather.

6.       The only beings required to be horny are the reindeer.

5.       If things don't go well, you can still sing about putting the partridge in the
          pear tree.

4.       The only necessary climax is Santa's arrival.

3.       All you need to jazz up the same old stale fruitcake is a little rum.

2.       The stiffest thing in the house has a star on the tip.

1.       If you don't get what you want, you don't have to go through it again until
          next year.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!    

©Enda Junkins, 3200 N. MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 106, Irving, TX. (972-255-5233)

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