Does your day include a dose – or two – of laughter? Do you enjoy a good belly laugh at least once a week? Have you found yourself “in stitches” this month? No matter your age, you need humor in your life. April is National Humor Month – an opportunity to share the gift of laughter with adults. Here are a few prescriptions to make them smile.
- Celebrate April Fool’s Day on April 1. Encourage participants to wear a zany outfit. How about stripes and polka dots, a blouse worn backward, or mismatched socks? Eat a silly food combination, like ice cream with pickles.
- Take a funny group photo – wear big red clown noses or floppy hats.
- Act out some short humorous skits.
- Watch a wacky comedy with an all-star cast, like the 1963 hit It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (Spencer Tracy, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Phil Silvers, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, and Jonathan Winters star in the film.)
- Listen to excerpts from a humorous audio book, by an author like Bill Cosby, George Burns, Erma Bombeck, or Dave Barry. Ask: Do you have a sense of humor? Can you laugh at yourself and with others? Have you learned to laugh at life’s annoyances? What do you find humorous?
- For the men: Watch a baseball bloopers video. Listen to Abbott and Costello’s famous routine, “Who’s on First?” Sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
- Enjoy funny anecdotes, one-liners, and riddles from the Reader’s Digest column, “Laughter, the Best Medicine.”
- Listen to the lyrics of some funny songs, like “Alley Oop,” “Yakety Yak,” “Name Game,” or “Charlie Brown.” Laugh at funny song titles.
- Laugh with children – share knock-knock jokes, riddles, or silly rhymes.
- Watch episodes of the old TV show Dennis the Menace. Ask: What are shenanigans? Were you ever considered a mischief-maker? Tell us about some of your childhood mischief.
- Quiz your group on comic strip characters. Browse through some old humorous comic strips and ask your participants which ones mimic their lives. Ask: Did you grow up reading the comics? Did you grab the comics section first when reading a newspaper? Name some of your favorite characters.
- Bone up on joke telling – clean jokes only! (Be sure to rehearse the punch line.) Hold a joke-telling contest. Vote on the best delivery. Winner gets a gag gift.
- Define prank. Name some synonyms for prank. Reminisce about school, Halloween, or April Fool’s Day tricks and jokes.
- Wear pins and buttons with funny sayings – e.g., Life is uncertain…so eat dessert first!
- Enjoy a hilarious comedy routine from the piano-playing comedian, Victor Borge. Reminisce about other favorite comedy routines – Jack Benny or Uncle Miltie?
COMIC STRIP CHARACTER QUIZ
Quiz your group on some favorite comic strip characters. Reminisce about their antics!
- Dagwood, Alexander, and Cookie Bumstead are members of this comic strip family. Blondie
- In which comic strip was Sadie Hawkins Day created? Li’l Abner
- What does Popeye the Sailor eat to make him strong? Spinach
- What is the name of Archie Andrews’ best friend since childhood in the Archie comic books? Jughead Jones
- What is the name of the family pet in Hi and Lois? Dawg
- In what kind of a setting does the comic strip Beetle Bailey take place? U. S. Army post
- This female character in the Peanuts comic strip is loud and bossy. Lucy
- Dennis the Menace drives this neighbor crazy. Mr. Wilson
- If a pair of people look like “Mutt and Jeff,” they are what? One tall, one short
- During which war was Sad Sack created? World War II
“HUMOR ME” written by Sue Hansen. © 2009 ElderSong Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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