How to Find Joy this Holiday Season

(c) 2005 Christine Louise Hohlbaum

'Tis the season to be jolly, but who really is? If you're tired of the hustle and bustle, step away from the oriental carpet for a fresh perspective. Here's how you can maintain a sense of humor during the holidays.

• Play the “What’s this?” game. Similar to the game played on the popular impromptu acting show “Whose Line is it, Anyway?”, take an object such as a candlestick and ask “What’s this?” The next person places it on his head and says “A unicorn horn!” or on his chest and says, “I am Uma Thurman in ‘Pulp Fiction’!” See how fast you can play.
• Do the unexpected. When your least favorite relative starts to push your buttons, run around a chair three times and flap your arms. Invite others to join you.
• Watch a funny movie.
• With large groups, play an interactive game such as “Pictionary” or “Charades”.
• Let off steam by creating your own rendition of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”. “On the first day of Christmas my in-law gave to me…” Perform it in private circles.
• Read a funny book.
• Exercise such as bob-sledding or playing football can balance your mood. Movement is the opiate for the mildly over-stressed during the holidays.

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff (2003) and SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe (2005), has been published in hundreds of publications. When she isn’t writing, leading intensive seminars or wiping up messes, she prefers to frolic in the Bavarian countryside near Munich where she lives with her husband and two children. http://www.diaryofamother.com

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