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.
