A stamp is a miracle.

For just fifty-eight cents, someone will come to your house to collect a letter you’ve written and hand-deliver it to the house of someone else anywhere in the country.

Heck, back in the old days, you had to be royalty with great wealth and servants at your beck and call if you wanted a personal message delivered to someone in your kingdom.

Even now, if you lived in Miami, how much time, money, and effort would it take you to hand-deliver a birthday card to a friend in Seattle? Depending on whether you took a plane or car, and if you had any overnight stays involved, it might cost you a thousand dollars or more.

Instead, a mailman will do it for the tidy sum of fifty-eight cents, and you can stay on your couch in your pajamas polishing off a pint of Chubby Hubby. 

Miraculous.

It makes me wonder why we don’t avail ourselves of this magic more often. Because perhaps the best part of the whole thing is receiving a real greeting card or a handwritten letter from someone else. You have a permanent record of someone’s inner thoughts, and a relic of them, in the form of their own handwriting, their unique signature. They had to lick the envelope. They affixed the stamp. It’s like a little craft project, made just for you.

It’s extraordinary because it’s rare. We don’t do snail mail much anymore; it takes too long. An email or a text is quicker. 

In this harried world, there is something special knowing that someone had to hit pause on their day, on purpose, to complete a physical action that took longer than pounding out a few keystrokes on their laptop. That’s the coolest part: the indisputable fact that they were thinking of you. You mattered to them. And they gave someone very specific instructions to deliver that message directly to you, as quickly as possible. 

All for fifty-eight cents.

This isn’t an advertisement for the postal service, although they do have some amazing people in their ranks. It’s a reminder that there are miracles all around us. 

If you can’t see them, you’re not paying attention.

I hope this inspires you to send a miracle to someone today.

[ 💌 Want a printable version you can print and share with your favorite postal worker? Here you go! ]

Life got turned upside down for everyone in 2020. Virtual meetings. Mask mandates. Toilet paper shortages. All of it…because COVID. The COVID-19 pandemic was a storm that affected all of us, in many different ways. It wrought a lot of pain, tragedy, and devastation. But if you look closely, you might have noticed that good things can come from an unwelcome pandemic. Closer relationships. Unexpected blessings. Surprising opportunities for growth. All of it…because COVID. 

We are launching a new initiative, and we invite you to join us in contributing to the healing process by bringing more light into the world.

The #BecauseCOVID Project is not about minimizing the pain or making light of the loss we experienced. It’s about looking ahead with hope by looking back with gratitude at the positive developments that blossomed in the wake of the storm.

👉 You’re invited to download and print this PDF. Then write in your COVID blessing and share it on social media by tagging @escapeadulthood and using the hashtag #BecauseCOVID

Lend your voice to the chorus of those with a good story to tell about the worst year ever.

Did you know that spaghetti has Adultitis-fighting superpowers? As long as you keep it off of plates, that is. 🍝

This is one of the more polarizing ideas I’ve ever shared in any of my speaking programs. The thought of eating a spaghetti dinner sans plates either causes people to roll their eyes in disgust or exuberantly start planning when to do it.

Those who are hesitant are mostly concerned about the spectacular mess they imagine will be created. Granted, this is not a Martha Stewart-approved event, but it’s not as bad as you might think. Some have their fears alleviated when we suggest using a plastic tablecloth that can be rolled up and thrown away afterward. In many ways, this makes cleanup easier than most dinners! Doing it outdoors as part of a picnic is also a way to minimize the mess.

As you might expect, children, who are weary from always being reprimanded to be more “civilized” at the dinner table, love Barbarian Spaghetti immensely. But it is a great gift to give grown-ups, too. We spend way too much time worrying about what other people think, and that can be pretty exhausting. It’s fun to give others the permission to have fun, be a little silly, and not take themselves so seriously.

I can assure you that in each case, the only one disappointed with the outcome is Adultitis.

I just made a brand new coloring sheet to help bring light into this dark time! Feel free to share your finished creations, on your Facebook wall, on your fridge, in your window for passersby to see…I can’t wait to see your version! :)

👉 Download it here.

Get even more free coloring sheets here.

One of the best parts of Christmas is opening up an unexpectedly awesome gift from a thoughtful giver.

Even better is watching someone else open up the perfect gift you found for them.

Unfortunately, the gift-giving part of the holidays often contributes a big part of the stress most people feel during the season. It’s not easy trying to find something nice for everyone on the list while fighting the bustling, crazy crowds and keeping the budget from ballooning like Santa on a post-Christmas cookie eating binge.

A lot of families and work colleague save money by doing gift exchanges in which every person buys a gift for just one person, rather than everyone in the whole family. Names are drawn, a budget is set, and gifts are purchased.

It’s budget-friendly, but can become a bit stale. Not anymore!

Without further ado, here are some creative ideas for adding a fun twist to the standard gift exchange…

Alphabet Gift Exchange.
Draw names as usual, then have everyone select a letter of the alphabet and get a gift for their person that starts with that letter. Another twist is to buy the gift from a store that starts with that letter.

Around the World.
Get everyone to pick a different country (preferably not the one in which you live) and buy a gift that fits the country. Participants can choose their own country or draw one at random.

The Gift That Keeps Giving.
What about having everyone purchase a magazine subscription based on the interests of the recipient? Grandpa gets Field & Stream, Grandma gets Quilt Magazine, Aunt Jenny gets Epicurious, and your nephew Nicholas gets Sports Illustrated for Kids.

Choose Your Own Theme.
In a similar vein, your family or officemates can decide on your own theme for the year. Then everyone’s gift needs to fit the theme. For instance, if you choose “red,” all the gifts need to be predominantly red (or feature the comedian Red Skelton, perhaps.) How about these ideas to get you started: Something made in the USA. As Seen on TV. Books. Soft. Shiny. Food. Wood. Old. Childlike. (see what I did there? ;)

This Could Get Ugly.
You may have heard me talk about ugly cookies, but how about drawing names and have everyone buy something “ugly” based on a theme. Ugly sweaters. Ugly salt and upper shakers. Ugly ornaments…

Left or Right.
Designate someone to write a fun story that contains many instances of the words “left” and “right” (but not an equal number of times). Then have everyone buy a gift and have someone wrap each one in the same paper with no names on them. Every one grabs a gift, and as the story is read aloud, the packages are exchanged accordingly each time “left” or “right” is said. At the end of the story, the gift you end up with is yours.

Go Handmade.
Make a rule that everything has to be handmade. Of course, you could make it (or bake it) yourself, or you can choose to purchase something from a local artisan. Etsy.com is also a great place to find neat handmade treasures from talented folks.

Thrifty Fashions.
One family told us that they exchanged names and bought an outift (with accessories!) from Goodwill or a thrift store that the recipient would have to wear to their New Year’s Eve party. This prompted a fashion show, and a group picture.

The Weight Is Killing Me.
What about having everyone buy a pound of…something?

This Makes Sense.
Have everyone draw a paper that has one of the five senses written on it: hearing, smell, sight, touch, or taste. Then you have to buy a gift related to that sense.

Scavenger Hunt.
Another family often does a scavenger hunt gift exchange. Everyone gets someone else’s stocking, and they all go to the shopping mall, tasked with filling the stocking in one hour. No gift cards or jewelry allowed. Of course, no one wants to be seen, so people end up ducking behind other shoppers, running from store to store, sneaking down aisles, etc. The assigned stockings are hidden until Christmas, when they are opened one by one. The laughs shared over the antics and hijinks are usually just as much fun as the gifts themselves.

The Spirit of Christmas.
Everyone brings in a “spirit” that is $20 or less.

Lights, Camera, Action.
Everybody buys a movie for under $20. You can make a rule as to what rating limit is. (I’m guessing you don’t want Grandma Betty unwrapping an NC-17 flick, but you do you.) You can add other rules, such as no Black & White, no Cartoons, no TV shows, etc. The movies get wrapped or gift bagged and one by one, each person draws one movie from the pile.

Good or Gag.
For exchanges in which the gifts aren’t tied to a specific recipient, mix in some gag gifts with real good ones. Each person then picks their present based on packaging alone. Of course, you can modify and adapt any of the standard rules in the popular White Elephant/Yankee Swap tradition.

So there you go; a few ideas for sprucing up your office or family’s next Christmas gift exchange. Do you have any to add? Share yours in the comments!

Well, it happened. The longest day of the year has come and gone.

It’s always a bit depressing for me, because I know that now the days will only get shorter and shorter. (And it feels like summer only just arrived!) I can’t help but wonder if I’m taking full advantage of the warmer weather. After all, a good summer is one that’s jammed with good memories.

If you can relate, here are a couple thoughts…

First, it doesn’t have to be overly organized. We asked a bunch of people on Facebook for their favorite thing to do outside as a kid, and not one person mentioned anything about an organized sport. Which was interesting to me, as organized sports are often are the biggest culprit in creating summer clutter and busyness.

Secondly, money isn’t a major factor either. Although one might consider a trip to Disney World a slam dunk memory machine, it just isn’t so. Dave Ramsey asked his community about their best summertime memories, and Disney World wasn’t mentioned once.

In both discussions, things like climbing trees, family game and movie nights, playing freeze tag, homemade popsicles, swinging on a tire swing, exploring nature, building forts, catching tadpoles or fireflies, family bike rides, campouts and campfires, parades, fireworks, and day trips to lakes were the activities that made the list and resulted in lifelong memories.

If that list doesn’t give you some ideas to run with, here’s one from Jill Kellner of Green Bay that I had to share.

When her boys were little, she reports that they did an A-Z summer. They put the alphabet into an old hat and each week they pulled out a letter and thought of something fun to do that began with that letter. The letter K inspired them to go Kite Flying. Another time they Cloud Watched for the letter C, laying out blankets in the backyard and looking for shapes in the clouds, pointing out what they saw to each other. Then there was R for Rollerblading, L for Library day, and S for Swimming at the lake. Jill said the letters at the end of the alphabet were trickier, requiring an extra dose of creativity (X = Xtra Fun).

Of course, this isn’t just for people with kids. I have one friend who is going through the alphabet to determine which new small towns he visits, and another who is trying out new restaurants that start with a different letter.

Here’s the important thing: The absolute BEST way to make sure your summer is well spent is to spend a lot of quality time with the people you care about.

T is for Truth.

New Year’s resolutions are okay, but I like tinkering better.

A resolution feels like a stern, rigid taskmaster who shames you when you fall down. But tinkering is a curious friend, nudging you into new adventures in which you uncover things you didn’t know about yourself.

With a resolution we say, “I’m going to immediately change forever.”

When we tinker, we say, “I wonder what would happen if I tried this for a little bit…”

Instead of committing to a resolution, I recommend starting a Tinker Project.

A Tinker Project as a playful endeavor of any size or scope that gives you permission to experiment with something that’s been tugging at your soul, without regard to any particular outcome. It’s a chance to chase your curiosity and try something new. It’s about venturing into the unknown, just because, where the act of exploration is reward enough.

A Tinker Project is meant to be pretty flexible. It could be a year long, or just a few days. You could use it to accomplish 365 things, or just try 3. In 2016, I took on a pretty intensive Tinker Project. My goal, after going too many years in a row wishing I’d spent more time in my studio making art, was to create 100 new pieces. It turned out to be quite a challenge, but I’m happy to report that I did it. In retrospect, I probably bit off more than I could chew, but I think it’s what I needed at the time.

Here are a few things I learned in that process.

Work backwards.
I didn’t pull the number 100 out of thin air. I did some math to determine the feasibility. I knew that at my current rate of production, I could probably get 2 new pieces done in a full day, and I’d be able to hit my goal if I set aside one full studio day a week.

Make a visual scoreboard.
I created a simple scoreboard, with 100 circles. Each time I finished a new piece, I filled in a circle. This gave me a quick visual snapshot of how I was doing and kept me accountable.

Get support.
It helps to have someone cheering you on. In my case, I got emails throughout the year from readers who were curious how it was going. The biggest thing for me was that my wife was on board, which was very important, because she has a lot of control over my schedule! But also, it was easy for me to convince myself that it was frivolous, compared to the activities that were more tangibly revenue producers. She believed in the importance of this project for my long-term growth. That helped a lot!

Talk about it publicly. Or not.
This is tricky. Some people will argue that when you tell someone you’re training for a marathon, all the praise you get for sharing your intent satisfies you so much that you don’t even need to follow through on it, because you already got the “win.” However, it is also true that sharing your intent publicly will cause people to ask you about your progress, and that can keep you accountable because you don’t want to look like a loser. I’d say figure out what category you’re most likely to fall into and proceed accordingly.

Be flexible with your schedule.
In order to accomplish my goal, I know I needed to carve out the time to do it. So I set aside one day per week as Studio Day. Because my schedule is so fluid, there were many times an opportunity arose or request to speak conflicted with a studio day. At those times, I followed the mantra, “If you erase, you must replace.” If something else comes up, you have to move it somewhere else.

Be flexible with yourself.
Somewhere during the course of the year, I decided to take up oil painting. Which was great for my growth as an artist, but terrible for my original calculations on how long things would take. Oil painting is much more time intensive than the work I’d been doing digitally. I stubbornly refused to adjust my 100 goal, which definitely added extra stress towards the end of the year. This was probably a Tinker Project fail, but alas, my stubbornness is my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.

Beware The Resistance.
Stephen Pressfield talks about this in his amazing book, The War of Art, which I read once a year. The Resistance — a first cousin to Adultitis — will be your biggest obstacle, and it will come in many forms. The more important something is to our soul, the more Resistance shows up. I noticed it in how my morning routine would subtly push into the rest of my day, as I tried to get “just one more thing done” before I got started on the art making. Before I knew it, two hours of my studio day was frittered away on busy work. Sneaky bastard.

The only studio day I missed all year was when I was on vacation. I couldn’t control how long pieces would take or whether or not any of them would be any good. But I could control planting my butt in the studio and doing the work. And that’s all you can do. That’s the part you have to be ruthless about. You have to be willing to go through the motions and put out crap. From this willingness to suck is where the magic happens. It’s what separates the pro from the amateur. The amateur makes excuses and waits for inspiration. The pro makes a commitment and waits for nothing.

I did make a lot of crap in 2016. But I also turned out quite a few gems.

Final Thoughts
In the end, many of the fruits I enjoyed in 2017 came out of my Tinker Project in 2016, including our involvement with the Madison Night Market, my foray into live painting, and the first ever Wondernite (all of which were Tinker Projects in their own right). Although I completed what I set out to do, it was probably on the more extreme side of what a Tinker Project should be.

At its heart, it should be a fun, low pressure experiment. It should be permission to move forward into something that’s been pulling at your heart, without having to know the reason why.

My heart knew I needed to spend more time in the studio, but my head didn’t know why. Turns out that all the cool things that happened in 2017 are examples of some of the “whys” that materialized, but there was no way I could have known them when I started.

Oftentimes, a New Year’s resolution is the response of your head using logic to call the shots: I should lose weight, eat healthier food, save more money.

A Tinker Project is about trusting that sometimes, your heart has reasons for doing things that take awhile for your head to understand.

My friend Dave (a recent Adultitis Fighter of the Month) has Mondays off. They started becoming a little stale, so he decided to shake things up. Although he’s an avid traveler, Dave realized that he actually explored very little of his home state of Wisconsin. One day, he pulled out a map, landed on a city named Amherst and set out to make a day of exploring this unfamiliar town. Next week, he went to a city that started with the letter “B” (Babcock), followed by Columbus, and has continued his quest through the alphabet. (He’s currently on “H”.) Most of the towns are quite small, but they all have something interesting about them, whether it’s an old covered bridge, an obscure museum, or a unique little park where he and his dog Lily can hang out. And not surprisingly, these adventures turn out to be pretty economical.

As we settle into the summer here in the northern hemisphere, I thought this was a neat idea worth sharing. It’s proof that you don’t need to jet off to faraway lands to have great adventures. Heck, you don’t even need to travel to live more adventurously. You could add a twist by using the alphabet to instigate an adventure by visiting 26 new restaurants, listening to 26 new bands, or reading 26 new authors, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet.

Ruts are the moldy places where Adultitis likes to fester. Most of us get trapped in one from time to time. But you don’t have to scale mountains or jump out of planes to live an adventurous life. Turning everyday into an adventure is actually quite simple.

Just start with your ABCs.

It’s been almost two years since Penguins Can’t Fly was published. It features forty of the most common rules that don’t exist, but with each passing day, I am even more convinced that there are more like forty million, keeping us enslaved to Adultitis without us even noticing. A few weeks ago, I asked Escape Adulthood Insiders to share some of the so-called rules they most love breaking. I got so many good ones!

This week, I wanted to play mild-mannered reporter and pass along a few of my favorites, because I they are great reminders for everyone.

Thou shalt only observe morning once a day. (Melissa LeFever)
“Why can’t we start the day over whenever we need? Sometimes we need a couple chances in a day to get it right. I learned to break this rule when I had my worst parenting day ever. I told my daughter that the day started over after nap because we both needed a new start. It worked. We started with a fresh plate and fresh attitude. Sometimes we need discipline and sometimes we need grace.”

Thou shalt not use all of your vacation time. (Heather Holm)
“My office has this unwritten rule that we don’t use vacation time – even though they give a lot of time to us. So this morning I booked a flight to London for this summer and a second flight to the East Coast for fall! No way am I going to lose vacations days because the boss lives at work.”

Thou shalt decide for thyself what thou shalt eat at a restaurant (Ed Marks)
“While traveling and trying to support some of the local businesses, I’ve sometimes just told the waiter or waitress, ‘Surprise me with what you or the chef think I’d like.’ Many times it throws them off a bit but when I assure them I’m serious, I normally end up with something really, really good. On a couple of occasions it’s been something not even in the menu, which is fun. It allows me to be surprised and also lets the restaurant have some fun and be a little out of the ordinary.”

Thou shalt give your real name when waiting for a table at a restaurant. (Aimee Inman)
“My favorite rule that doesn’t exist is giving the hostess at a restaurant your real name for the wait list. Ever since my daughter was born, my husband and I use her name. Now that she’s 4, she thinks it’s so cool and special when her name gets called. She then leads the parade to the table. I think I might let her pick what name we use the next time just to see what she comes up with!”

Thou shalt not blow your straw wrapper at a fellow diner. (Leanne Rohn)
‘Nuff said.

Which of these “rules” are YOU going to break this week?

Welcome to September! Adultitis is certainly excited about the calendar shift, as the lazy days of summer ramp up into busier times – especially for anyone affected by the back-to-school season.

Well, we refuse to surrender, and we’ve got four new Small Rebellions specially designed to upend the Big A. They’re part of the Escape Adulthood Adventure Club, where we send free stickers (kind of like merit badges) by mail to the first 100 folks who complete the challenges and share their escapades online.

Rally your friends, your family, your co-workers — or even just your little old self — and tackle any or all of these challenges. They’re all great ways to make memories, make a difference, and make Adultitis mad!

Adopt a Pet (Rock) – Find a lonely abandoned rock and give it a new leash on life. Decorate it, accessorize it, name it, bring it to work…let your creativity run wild! (For sticker eligibility, tag @escapeadulthood and use the hashtag #eaac005)

Project Play Dough – Who can forget that awesome smell?! Knead, roll, and pinch your imagination to new heights by making something fun out of modeling clay. Here’s a great recipe if you want make your own. (For sticker eligibility, tag @escapeadulthood and use the hashtag #eaac006)

Pajama Run – Surprise someone you care about by taking them out for a late-night treat in their pajamas. (Make sure to wear yours, too!) For best results, maintain the mystery by keeping the destination a secret for as long as possible. And if you want to go in style, use the coupon code ADVENTURECLUB at ForeverLazy to get 20% off anything! (For sticker eligibility, tag @escapeadulthood and use the hashtag #eaac007)

Chewing Gum Challenge – When it comes to bubble gum, size matters. Challenge someone to a chewing gum duel and see who can blow the biggest bubble! (For sticker eligibility, tag @escapeadulthood and use the hashtag #eaac008)

Whether or not you choose to share your exploits online, I hope you will make some time to tackle some or all of these challenges with someone you care about this month. It’s not hard to create an amazing portfolio of memories with your life, you just have to want to.

Learn more about the Adventure Club here!

I am so excited to announce our newest initiative to take down Adultitis!

We call it the Escape Adulthood Adventure Club.

How does it work? Every month, we’ll give you some fun ideas for fighting Adultitis (we call them Small Rebellions). If you do any of them — by yourself, or with friends, family, or co-workers — you can officially consider yourself in the Club! And if you are one of the first 100 people to share your exploits online, we’ll send you a rad sticker (sort of like a modern-day merit badge) for free! The only question is, “Can you collect them all?”

Join a community of freedom fighters making memories, making a difference, and making Adultitis mad.

Click here to discover the first four Small Rebellions and learn how to secure the stickers for each one!

Last week, my daughter Lucy ran a pancake stand to raise money for Kindermusik. (Full recap here.) Although it caught one couple expecting to score some lemonade a bit off guard, everyone hailed it as a great idea and wonderful success. And it was, for many reasons, not the least of which were all the lessons Lucy learned in the process.

But another unexpected benefit was the opportunity to get to know many of our neighbors better, as well as meeting some for the first time.

Although I am always wary of waxing on about how much better the olden days were (I’m not that old yet!), it sure seems like neighborhoods were closer and more tight-knit a few generations ago than they are now. People are working longer. Kids are involved in more scheduled activities outside of the home. It often seems like the only thing we do in our homes anymore is sleep.

But Lucy’s Pancake Stand reminded me how important that neighborhood connection can be. And how bringing it back is not as hard as it might seem.

Food is always a big draw.

Helping your kids set up a lemonade (or pancake) stand is one idea. But you could also bake some cookies and share them with neighbors. Or invite them over for pizza. Bring a soft drink to someone who just finished cutting their grass. Or plan a Knock Knock Party.

A Knock Knock Party is a bit more involved, but it sounds pretty cool. It was shared with me by a lady I met after a recent speaking engagement. Tammy, who was a veteran of many such parties, explained them like this: A number of families would plan to rise VERY early in the morning and converge on the doorstep of an unsuspecting neighbor. After what I’d guess would be several knocks, the sleepy neighbor would open the door to behold a pajama-clad caravan of people, armed with eggs, bacon, and pancake mix, ready to whip up an epic breakfast for the surprised family. Any annoyance over the early wake up call would fall prey to the friendly banter, flurry of generosity, and aroma of frying bacon.

One thing is certain: Adultitis would not approve.

We spend a lot of time rushing around to pad our resumes, collect accomplishment, and accumulate things, but the older I get, the more I see that relationships are the best part of life. Connecting with others just makes life better.

Rekindling the richness of the neighborhoods of yesteryear is not that hard. Yes, it takes a while to build the relationships that make a Knock Knock Party possible. But you have to start somewhere.

I recommend pancakes.

Once upon a time, there was a friendly, kind, and generous woman named Joan. She attended an Escape Adulthood Summit in Madison and wanted to bring back some of the magic she experienced to a group of her friends. So she hosted the first ever Escape Adulthood Party. And a great time was had by all.

Joan didn’t ask for permission. She didn’t have an advanced degree in party planning. She just did it.

And Kim and I were just tickled pink about it. We have always thought this fight against Adultitis was bigger than us, and we are delighted whenever our suspicions are proven right.

The three Escape Adulthood Summits we’ve put on have been magical experiences, but the spirit that brings them to life is bigger than any one person, place, or parcel of time. Joan created a spark, and we set out to help fan the flame.

And so, two years ago, we went to work putting together a guide to inspire and encourage others to put on Escape Adulthood Parties of their own. After all, who couldn’t benefit from a little less Adultitis in their lives? And an excuse to have a party with no obligation other than to have ton of fun? Sign us up!

We’ve taken the concept of Joan’s original party, combined it with standard elements and best practices of an Escape Adulthood Summit, and sprinkled in tons of ideas provided by people like you. This guide is the result of that magical combination.

It’s been a labor of love, and it turned out to be quite a little gem. There are ideas on what kind of food to serve, what things to do, and what to talk about, along with a sample agenda and more inspiring decorating tips than you can shake a stick at. Oh, and if you’ve read Penguins Can’t Fly and had the idea that it would make a great book club book (bless your heart!), we’ve included a complete discussion guide for it as well. (Warning: adding elements of an Escape Adulthood Party to a standard book club has the potential to put all other book clubs to shame!)

Perhaps best of all, it’s 100% free. You can get it right here.

By all means, make Adultitis twitchy by spreading it far and wide.

Keep in mind that it is just a guide. We’ve given you an outline, but feel free to put your own spin on it to make it your own. Your party can be as casual or elaborate as you like. Our dream is to see people all over the world hosting Escape Adulthood Parties, reporting back with pictures and stories and tips on how to make them even better. We plan on updating it regularly with everyone’s good ideas.

The war against Adultitis is epic in scale. The good news is that the fight is fun.

May this guide prove to be a most useful weapon.

Whenever I get a coffee at Starbucks, and they ask me for my name, I always tell them “Jason.”

While this is completely honest, it’s also completely devoid of fun.

The next time you buy a coffee or put your name in at a restaurant, use a fake name as your alias. It could be a normal sounding name, the name of a fictional character, or something completely unusual like Cantaloupe or Melmac. Just make sure it’s fake!

Of course, you can do this with friends, too. At a conference I was speaking at recently (howdy OAEYC peeps!), two female attendees decided to make the random names that were printed on the side of their Coke can their aliases for the day. “Hilda” and “Kenneth” had a great time with this bit of silliness.

As usual, the simple things are the best ways to add a bit of whimsy to your day. They can make long days go faster, turn annoying customers into afterthoughts, or create memories that last years and years.

Now if you’ll excuse me, Han Solo needs to go get some coffee.

We recently hosted a live hangout on Facebook to celebrate the end of winter. It was a fun and frantic online hangout filled with laughter and lively discussion. We invited the partygoers to share their favorite April Fools Day prank. Here are some of the best:

My husband moved all of the clocks ahead 5 hours when I fell asleep on the couch. Woke up thinking that to had to get up for work in 45 minutes when it was really only 2:30 in the morning! (Lisa Toli)

Mashed potato ice cream cones. (via Sarah Jenkins)

At work, put the phone in the ceiling tiles. Or tape down the phone receiver. (via LA Denniston Klitzke)

My daughter put a rubber band around the kitchen sink sprayer. (via Karen Spicher Zakin)

Flour was put on the ceiling fan in the winter time…first spring day it was warm, the fan was turned on… (via Sue Gudenkauf)

Moved my coworker’s cup from where she put it on the drinking fountain to a shelf on the opposite back wall. Took her an hour to find it. (via Anna Baker)

Put colored milk into a pitcher in the fridge. My niece and nephew were surprised to be putting blue milk on their cereal. (via Kristin Hoehne)

I made a poop-shaped brownie and left it on the floor in front of the toilet for my husband to find! (via Amy Metcalf)

My mom likes to put a raisin in the toothpaste “neck”, so the person tries really hard to squeeze the tube and out pops a raisin! (via Wendy Whitney Scherer)

What’s your favorite April Fools prank? Share it in the comments below!

And to make sure you’re the first to know about our NEXT Escape Adulthood LIVE party, become an Insider!

Last week we hosted a live party over on Facebook to celebrate the end of winter. (Winter exacted her revenge by dumping several inches of snow on us a few days later, which obviously proves that Winter has Adultitis.) Anyway, it was a fun and frantic online hangout filled with laughter and lively discussion. One of the topics that came up was spring cleaning. Namely, how to make it more FUN. (Is it even possible?)

You could try what my two-year-old son Ben did last year, which was to just throw everything out the window. Or you could try some of these gems, shared by some fellow Escape Artists:

Crank Up the Music
Many people talked about the power of music to inspire movement and make things more fun. Of course, the style of music is up to you, but 90’s music, 80’s music, dance music, and children’s music were all mentioned as options. And Wendy Whitney Scherer said she prefers Wisconsin Public Radio’s humorous and educational weekend shows.

Dance Like No One’s Watching
Fitbit owners rejoice! Anna Baker pointed out that by dancing, you can kill two birds with one stone by getting in extra steps AND tidying the house.

Reward Yourself
It’s always advisable to treat yourself for completing a less-than-exciting task. It keeps you moving forward and serves as worthy reward once you finish. Robert Bradford suggests eating a doughnut (or chocolate) at every milestone. Angel Bowen’s family goes the “eat ice cream for dinner” route. For Adam Braatz, a whiskey old-fashioned (or three) does the trick. And instead of one delayed reward after it’s all finished, Steve Arnold has a bunch of smaller rewards to enjoy after each, or the least favorite, chores.

Set the Bar Low
Let’s face it, after a long winter, the prospect of “spring” cleaning threatens to turn into “spring/summer/fall” cleaning. Which can make just getting started a challenge. Some folks suggested setting a timer for as few as 15 minutes. If you stop when the timer goes off, at least you’ve accomplished something. And more times than not, your momentum will keep you going!

You vs. You
For the competitive types, you can also use to timer to keep track of how fast you can complete each room. What will be your world record?

Build Characters
Sarah Miner takes things to a whole new level with a costume (and accent or superhero voice to match), and enlisting a crew in cleaning as their costume character. Rewarding a prize for cleanest area helps ensure silliness AND quality!

Go Soap Skating
Another fun idea, shared by Amy Metcalf, is to put on clean socks and step into a bucket of warm soapy water to scrub the kitchen floor with your feet. Needless to say, her kids heartily endorse this strategy.

Fight Evil
Along similar lines, Jen Haviland gives each of her kids a new pair of white tube socks, aka “monkey feet,” and a magic dusting wand, aka a Swiffer duster, and challenges them to see who can capture the most “evil” dirty men. All six kids ages 2-12 love trying to beat mom at getting the bad guys. It makes dusting way more fun when your hands and feet get involved in the competition.

Don’t Sweat It
No matter what, remember that life is for living. A clean house can be a great antidote for Adultitis, but it’s not the most important thing. Karen Spicher Zakin reminded us that spring cleaning can always happen in summer or fall…

Not a bad list, huh? What’s your favorite way to make spring cleaning more fun? Share it in the comments below!

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One of the best ways to defeat Adultitis is to set booby traps for it.

An Adultitis Booby Trap is a simple item or routine you incorporate into your life for the purpose of serindipitously reminding yourself to smile, laugh, or take yourself lightly, particularly when Adultitis levels are at their highest.

Our favorite Adultitis Booby Trap involves a tiny penguin eraser called Marty. For many years, we used Gumby’s friend Pokey until we stumbled upon Marty, who reminded us of the hero on the cover of my book), and has since become a champion of dreaming big, ignoring common knowledge, and not waiting for permission. Almost anything can work, but the best candidates are small and waterproof.

The game is a bit like Hide & Seek, except instead of hiding and finding each other, you hide Marty. One person starts out with the task of hiding Marty in a place someone else will eventually find it. The person who finds Marty is then in charge of hiding him again, as the game continues indefinitely. The fun comes when you’re pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, taking a shower, or making copies, and Marty shows up unexpectedly, bringing with him a smile to brighten your day.

See? An Adultitis Booby Trap.

This game rocks because it’s a super simple way to add a bit of playfulness at home or work. Kim and I started this game when we were dating after getting the idea from some college friends.

Our friend Eliz plays this game with her mom, hiding a ceramic hen in each other’s houses. We were sitting at her dining room table one night for dinner and she started laughing hysterically. She had not noticed until just then that the hen was in her china cabinet. Her sneaky mom had put it there over a week before. So fun!

It’s all about adding more fun to your daily routine, easily and inexpensively. And don’t let the simplicity of this game cause you to underestimate its effectiveness. We have received countless reports in the last decade from people all over the world who have been stressing less and having more fun…all because of a “silly” game.

If you decide to adopt Marty yourself, you can pick one up here. Happy hiding!

When you have a map to anywhere and GPS in your pocket, it’s really hard to get lost. I think that’s too bad, because sometimes getting lost can lead to great adventures.

Someone shared the idea of a “Penny Date” with me, and I wanted to pass it along.

The first rule is to get dressed to out and grab a penny. Get in the car and let your partner choose a number between 10 and 20. This will be the number of times you flip the penny. Pull out of the driveway and begin your adventure. Heads is right, Tails is left. Every time you come to an intersection, flip the penny and turn the corresponding direction. Once you get to the number your partner picked at the beginning, stop. Look around. Make a date where you are.

Pretty neat idea, isn’t it? Of course, this could be easily adapted for different scenarios. I regularly go on date nights with my daughter Lucy, and this would work just as well with her. Not to mention outings with the whole family or a couple of friends.

You don’t need a map. Or even a lot of money. You only need a spirit of adventure and a little creativity to have fun wherever you find yourself, just like when you were a kid.

Adultitis be gone!

What do you get for the person that has everything?

What’s an equally great gift for the person who has next to nothing?

Easy. How about the gift of time?

One Christmas, an acquaintance of ours gave her children a piece of paper emblazoned with the words, “The Gift of Time.” Each kid got to pick an activity to do with just Mom and Dad. For example, one of the girls elected to go to a theatrical production of RENT.

I guarantee those memories made will last longer than some gadget that could have been gifted instead, destined to be sold at a garage sale sometime down the line. Every time I clean the house, I’m reminded that it would be a whole lot easier if we just had less stuff.

We always encourage friends and family to contribute toward experiences for our kids. A number of them pitched in towards private swimming lessons for Lucy when she was younger. She loved it! She looked forward to her swim time every week, and I couldn’t believe how much her confidence grew in the time since she first began. I don’t know of many toys that fit that bill.

A few years ago, we helped Lucy cross something off her Bucket List: horseback riding. An hour-long stroll through the woods on the back of her favorite animal (besides a cheetah!) really made an impression. Check out her letter to Santa to see what was on the top of her Christmas list that year.

Nowadays she earns money feeding and caring for horses, and leases one of her own!

We live in a society that is stuff rich and time-poor. Time is the most valuable thing we have. It’s more in demand than Cabbage Patch Kids or Tickle Me Elmo dolls ever were.

Experiences last long after a toy gets broken or outgrown. And the gift of time — the kind that is generous, unrestricted, and free of distraction — is as fitting a present for kids as it is for spouses, parents, neighbors, employees, and the neighbor lady across the street.

Babysit for some busy parents so they can enjoy a dinner and a movie NOT rated ‘G.”

Take a friend on a surprise adventure that includes a delicious lunch and a spa visit.

Join the widow across the street when she walks her dogs and offer company and conversation.

At the end of our lives, we will not spend time taking inventory of all the stuff we collected. No, we will be reflecting on the scenes we created, the experiences that took our breath away, and the memories we made spending time with the people we love.

There’s nothing wrong with giving a meaningful, thoughtful gift that the recipient can hold and treasure. But if you’re stuck trying to find the perfect something for a certain somebody, a little time is all you need.

Willy Wonka’s glass elevator was an Adultitis Antidote. How many elevators can you say that about?

With all due respect to Aerosmith, elevators are not usually bastions of fun. They are awkward little boxes in which everyone stares blankly at the floor numbers, tightens the sphincter, and puts on their best grown-up face while staring straight ahead. It’s the equivalent of entering a walk-in closet with random strangers and closing the door.

But taking a page out of Mr. Wonka’s book is not that hard.

My friend Dan plays a game called Elevator Fight Club with his kids. When they are in an elevator together, after the doors close, they begin a fake boxing match with each other. The action stops as soon as the doors re-open. Dan has reported that it’s not uncommon for the fight to resume quietly even when someone else is with them. And of course, the first rule of Elevator Fight Club is that you do not talk about Elevator Fight Club, so I’ve already said too much.

Innocent, a UK-based maker of fruit juices and smoothies, installed a Twister game in their elevator. How awesome is that? I suspect it is nearly impossible to walk into that elevator and not smile. Which is actually the genius of it. Full-blown human knots don’t have to result for an idea like this to reap benefits. Even if no one actually plays the game, just the fact that it’s there makes the company more buzz worthy, and a more fun place to work.

Some people report that they sometimes face the back of the elevator while everyone else is facing forward. I’ll admit that I’m not brave enough to try that, but I’m sure it makes Adultitis very uncomfortable.

Adultitis dominates certain locations in this world, and there is no doubt the elevator is one of them. If you ask me, it’s a perfect place for a full-on assault against this vile enemy.

What are YOUR favorite ways to have fun in an elevator?