A "Marathon of Mirth" is an excuse for a very long yee-haw yoga exercise, rubbing the tummy of the Laughing Buddha, or organizing a politically-incorrect sort of party to mark the occasion of "April Fool's Day" (April 1st).

1. For those who hate heavy-duty physical exercise and dubious diets designed to remove excess fat, the "Marathon of Mirth" is an excellent way to raise money for charity, not to mention put all those fitness, foodie and flab-intolerant freaks to shame. All you have to do is organize a tight-knit team capable of beaming, chuckling, chortling, crowing, guffawing, giggling, grinning, haw-hawing, hooting, howling, smirking, snickering, snorting, tee-heeing, or tittering for twenty-four hours without a break! Not only will you have fun frolicking in the holly fuds for all you're worth, but you'll get a "Laughing Matters" Certificate of Completion to boot, and a worthy cause will benefit from all your fooforaw and foolish antics!

2. For those who have never been a "giggle groupie", a meditative mirth event may be more appropriate for you silly-minded souls who insist on doing things "solo". In this case, rubbing the tummy of the "Laughing Buddha" for a period of twenty-four hours without letting go, (except for potty breaks in the the privacy of one's own home), may be more suitable. Participants who have at least twenty-four witnesses (one for each hour of the challenge) who can verify your hands-on funny feat, will also be issued a "Laughing Buddha" Certificate of Completion", and all funds raised can go to one's favorite charity.

3. For those love the idea of holding a puckish sort of party to honor the occasion of "April Fool's Day" why not invite friends to wear outlandish costumes, serve funnybone finger-food and boisterous beverages not to mention hand out "Frequent Faux-Pas" Calling Cards inviting guests to show-off their their best gaffes, guffaws, and glitches to one and all! Besides donating the price of admission to charity, participants can auction off their "crazy costumes" or "foolish habits" not to mention their "two left feet" to the highest bidders. Others might choose to "sing a silly song for their supper", "act like a fool" by doing telling a joke or impersonating their blessed boss with the proceeds going to charity. Note: Everyone except wimpy wet-blankets, pitiful party-poopers, and snooty stick-in-the-muds will be issued "Mirth Matters Certificates of Completion"!

Not only will your guests be informed (via their invitations) to come dressed for this ridiculous ripsnorting occasion, but that they demonstrate a few daffy skills they've developed over the years, and should be prepared to participate in a few games for grown-ups who never learned how to play hopscotch, build sandcastles in the air, or sing like a bird.

Hosts and hostesses would be well advised to have a long-list of lollygagging leisure activities to keep their guests amused, entertained, and/or splitting their sides laughing.

The following utterly useless, if not fanciful or foolish activities will consume at least one hour each during your mirth marathon.

1. Speak in Pig Latin; (those who refuse to participate shall be required to spend the hour sitting on a "Naughty Stool" in the corner).

2. Draw faces on the undersides of everyone's toes, including anyone called "Twinkle Toes" with two left feet; for the remainder of the party participants will go barefoot to show-off their art work!

3. Organize a band of household instruments (cymbals out of pan lids, spoons, drums out of pots, zylophones out of water-filled glass jars, banjoes out of old tissue boxes and rubber bands for strings, kazoos from combs and kleenex).

4. Form teams and build the biggest house of cards without letting them fall down of course!

5. Do the "Hokey Pokey", the "Limbo" and the "Bunny Hop" (providing your own music and moves).

6. Make a crazy coat-of-arms from recycled odds and ends, (and of course it should be accompanied by a mirthful motto in any language you please).

7. Recite as many tongue-twisters as you can (without missing a beat).

8. Walk on stilts or snowshoes, pogo-jump, play pick-up sticks and do the hula-hoop with flair.

9. Create and perform a TV commercial for a new product, "toothpaste for toothless people" or "how to catch and train heffalumps".

10. Improvise a fairy tale with each person speaking no more than 5 words before passing the story on to the next person.

11. Toss as many raisins in a row into the air and catch them all in your mouth (no misses please!)

12. Book-batting for the bemused: use hardbound books as rackets, and standing at least five feet apart, bat a ping pong ball back and forth as many times you can with your partner, no drops).

13. Create a funny sculpture out of fruit, vegetables and nuts.

14. A team effort is required to make a list of as many things you can think of that your parents forget to tell when you were growing up.

15. It's time to use your creative genius to come up with the best graffiti you can come up with that will make folks giggle when they see it on a powder room wall, an executive washroom cubicle door, and outside a porta-potty door.

16. How many excuses can you come up with to get out of a parking ticket, use your imagination, ingenuity, and interesting sense of humor.

17. It's time for a bit of acting without words -- your team has to come up with a whole raft of things, (as many as you can think of) that you shouldn't do while in the dark.

18. You have been asked by the company that manufactures "The Joy of Jelly-Beans" to come up with a new flavor for 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Jelly-Bean, what is it, why have you chosen it, and would you change the shape of the jelly-bean just to be different?

19. If Men are from Mars...and Women are from Venus, this group had better figure out just what females know more about than males, and be prepared to defend their point of view before a panel of experts!

20. Dorks, dweebs, and dingbats unite! It's time to make a comprehensive list of all the utterly useless things that exist, and perhaps that the world might be better off without.

21. Time to return to days gone by, because all you have to do is tell everyone exactly which things you wished you'd been taught in school or better yet should have ignored!

22. Assuming you had gallons of chocolate at your disposal, exactly what sort of things would you do with it...let your imagination run wild...the more the merrier!

23. You're all sitting around a campfire, and it's time to tell a giggling ghost story or fractured fairy tale, ...who are the main characters? what is the plot? and what's the best pick-up or punch line?

24. Just how many things can you or your group come up with that will not happen in your lifetime, and at least five things that you or your group have done that would astonish most people.

For those who find a twenty-four party a tad taxing on the eyes and ears, there's always the option of organizing a Monthly Mirth & Munch Meet-Up.

There are lots of tidbits and topics to choose from to put a smile on the faces of folks for at least a couple of hours each month:

1. Favorite comedians or comic performances (that make you roll in the aisles).

2. Movies that make you laugh (leave the tears to someone else).

3. Jokes or one-liners (that make your belly jiggle and warm the cockles of your heart).

4. Bizarre books (that make you scratch your head or snicker just a wee bit).

5. Silly songs you can sing, hopefully you can recall the words (and that you really have to wonder who wrote them and why).

6. Games or toys (that adults should play, or play with just to let their inner imp out to have some fun).

7. Exercise your imagination by drawing some "droodles", and have others figure out what you had in mind.

8. Hilarious commercials and advertisements (for those with great memories and mirthful minds).

9. Rewrite your resume (putting a funny spin on what you've done to put bread and peanut butter on your table all these years).

10. Time to sport all your "Ugly Attire" (come dressed for the occasion in your bell-bottoms, sack dress, moo-moo, ugly Christmas sweater, vintage Hawaiian short, tacky t-shirt, bunny slippers, or weird winter hat).

11. Name five funny places you've visited and why (this will be great for those who are bored out of their gourds watching grass grow).

12. Do you have any off-the-wall, over-the-top or just plain wacky family members or friends with odd names (who usually keep everyone in stitches)? So what makes them special?

__________

Photo Insert Credit: "Hysteria" by an artist with a terrific sense of humor, Susan Mrosek

Established in 1985 by comedians who wanted to do something to help others, "Comic Relief" is one of the most successful non-profit organizations in the United Kingdom.

Their mission is to "drive positive change through the power of entertainment" and toward that end they have raised millions of pounds annually in support of vulnerable people living incredibly difficult lives both at home in the U.K. and in the world's poorest countries.

One of their most successful "marathons of mirth" is a bi-annual event called "Red Nosed Day" which will be held on Friday, March 13, 2009, not to mention the sale of mirth merchandise be it "red noses", "fair-trade coffee" (for boisterous bean-counters only), and titillating t-shirts!

Of course, what would "Comic Relief" be without "mirth magicians" (comedy groups and celebrities) provide belly-loads of laughs along with cash (which allows this charity to literally 'laugh all the way to the bank'!!)