Why this helps:
Laughter is one of the most powerful non-pharmacological tools in dementia care. It reduces stress, releases endorphins, and creates connection. A dedicated “laughter hour” with a collection of printed jokes invites humor and play—and can be a highlight of the week!
How to do it:
Print a few jokes from the internet! Keep the language simple and clear.
Sit together at the kitchen table or in a comfortable spot.
Read each joke aloud. You don’t need to be a comedian—just read with enjoyment, warmth, and a relaxed smile.
Pro tip:
If you have a friend or volunteer who enjoys humor, invite them to lead the laughter hour. Some people are naturally gifted at this.
Comfort note:
Not every joke will land, and that’s okay. The effort to bring laughter is itself an act of care.
Novelty Journaling:
“Did we laugh today? Which joke brought the biggest smile? How did the laughter change the energy of our time together?” Keep your notes in the journal. Then read the journal tomorrow to elicit more laughter again!
Editor’s note: Miss Ethel, the retired 2nd grade teacher, loved this artwork. By the time we began to save Chaplain Ron’s jokes, we had quite a number of journals we were juggling.
We began keeping his jokes together in a 3-ring black binder with a transparent plastic cover.
The artwork created here could be slipped inside the transparent cover and protected when the notebook was used repeatedly.
Caregiver note:
Laughter is as healing for you as it is for your loved one. Let yourself be silly. Let yourself laugh. It’s medicine.
From the Editor: Laughter Had a Place at Our Table
We could fill several volumes with the humor shared at The Ranch. It kept us buoyant and connected—to one another, to the caregivers working nearby, to our hospice team, and to visitors who stopped in for a cup of coffee with Mother and Dad. Our kitchen table was a gathering place, and laughter belonged there.
“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.”
— Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist
When the Chaplain Brought the Jokes
One of our most memorable hospice visits began when Ron, the chaplain, brought printed jokes to the kitchen table. The laughter lasted for 45 minutes. What began as one joyful visit became a weekly ritual—something we could look forward to together.
Ron brought warmth, playfulness, and an invitation to enjoy one another’s company. For those moments, everyone at the table could share in the fun.
“Let the laughter come, even if it has not been heard for a very long time, especially if times are hard and the future uncertain. Laughter is as important in adversity as wisdom and courage.”
— Steven Charleston, retired Episcopal bishop and member of the Choctaw Nation
One Hand for Dad, One for the Book of Jokes 
The laughter did not end when our visitors went home. In this completely unstaged photograph, Mother and Dad had returned to the kitchen table in their nightclothes for a bedtime snack. With her left hand, Mother holds Dad’s hand. With her right, she turns the pages of the Book of Jokes.
Notice the large print on the page. Ron printed the jokes in a size Mother could read easily. Saved in a binder, they were ready whenever she wanted to return to them. A weekly visit had become part of our everyday life.
Dad Had the Last Laugh
The photographs preserve one kind of memory; the journals preserve another. While revisiting a Memory Journal in 2026, I rediscovered a comment from Dad that had sent our household into laughter in 2004. Even now, his timing makes me smile.
Are you ready? Here is the entry, just as I wrote it then:
Today, as usual, Susan – an amazing hospice CNA – provided Dad’s wonderful bath experience. He was so relaxed he fell asleep during the jokes and laughter which followed at the kitchen table.
Before Ron and Katie departed, we connected the camera to the VCR again so that the images taken this morning appeared on the TV screen. With that connection, we could all view photos taken in the previous hour together. So there were two rounds of laughter while Dad was so relaxed and “momentarily checked out.”
As he left, Ron shook Dad’s hand and said to him, “I enjoyed visiting with you, Bob.” Dad’s sleepy, dry response: “I know you enjoyed visiting with me while I was asleep.”
That was often the spirit of daytime visits at The Ranch. Mother and Dad loved having guests, and storytelling, humor, and laughter were almost always on the agenda. Keeping a journal meant that years later, I could hear Dad’s dry wit again—and share it with you.
Something to SMILE About: Australia’s Humor Study
What we experienced around our kitchen table also finds support in research. The Australian SMILE study, led by Dr. Lee-Fay Low, explored humor therapy in 36 residential aged-care facilities. Staff members trained as “LaughterBosses” worked with professional humor practitioners to bring playfulness into residents’ daily lives.
The study found reduced agitation, with benefits still evident at the 26-week follow-up. Researchers compared the size of that improvement with benefits reported for antipsychotic medication in other studies. The finding gives us reason to take humor seriously as part of dementia care.
Read more on our blog from July 2020: Laughter Helps People Living With Dementia
Research source: UNSW — Laughter lift (2011)
A Little Laughter, Ready for Tomorrow
A few printed jokes, large enough to read. A familiar place to sit. Someone willing to pause and share the moment. At The Ranch, these small acts made room for pleasure and companionship within the work of care. Saving the jokes—and recording a reply like Dad’s—gave us something to return to, that evening, the next week, or many years later. That is what this WAY offers: an invitation to enjoy one another today, and a little laughter to carry into tomorrow.
Learn More About Novelty Journaling
365 Ways to Say I Care
The NOVELTY EXPLAINER – Part I: What This Is
365 Ways to Say I Care
The Novelty Explainer – Part II: How Novelty Journaling Changes Us
Where attention goes, care begins.
365 Ways to Say I Care | ABeautifulVoice.org
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