Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to plant an invitation for an engaging activity.
Speaker 1: This tip comes from author and gatherings expert Pria Parker.
Speaker 1: In a recent piece, she described how everyone enjoys time
Speaker 1: at her friend Heidie's house. As Parker put it, Heidie
Speaker 1: leaves tiny, non verbal invitations all over her house for
Speaker 1: her guests to discover. There might be a backgamon board
Speaker 1: out of the case placed on a coffee table, a
Speaker 1: pile of books to flip through stacked in a window nook,
Speaker 1: a kid sized table with a cup of markers and
Speaker 1: two pieces of white paper left out, a big jump
Speaker 1: rope in the backyard. Parker continues, each is a pro
Speaker 1: social nudge to connect and engage, often in smaller pairs,
Speaker 1: in ways that tend to lead people through side doors
Speaker 1: into unexpected conversations. Doesn't that sound nice? There is delight
Speaker 1: in spotting a possible activity, like an easter egg, waiting
Speaker 1: for you to find it. As Parker notes, invitations like
Speaker 1: these may be especially appreciated by introverts, who may prefer
Speaker 1: what she calls small play over small talk. Planting invitations
Speaker 1: is great for parties, but there are lots of other
Speaker 1: times when an activity invitation could be welcome too. Lately,
Speaker 1: I have been thinking a lot about evenings, my own
Speaker 1: and other peoples. This time can feel lost or like
Speaker 1: a slog, but with a little intentionality, you can transform
Speaker 1: the time to become golden hours. Planting invitations may be
Speaker 1: one gentle way to make evenings more rewarding. If you
Speaker 1: are trying to nudge yourself or your household toward more
Speaker 1: meaningful evenings, consider planting supplies for evening activities. You could
Speaker 1: buy a deck of cards like those from table Topics,
Speaker 1: with conversation starters like what movie made you laugh until
Speaker 1: you cried? Or what's the nicest thing anyone ever said
Speaker 1: to you? Or you could go to the nonprofit Story
Speaker 1: Corps website search great questions and print out a list.
Speaker 1: These might take your dinner conversations up a notch. You
Speaker 1: won't be surprised to hear that. I also recommend puzzles
Speaker 1: and legos as invitations for evening activities. Crans, pencils or
Speaker 1: markers in drawing paper could be great too, so could Plato.
Speaker 1: Just set the items on the table or in a
Speaker 1: high traffic area and they will pull people in. Or
Speaker 1: maybe you leave a book of jokes for kids on
Speaker 1: the coffee table. Even for adult jokes pitched as being
Speaker 1: for kids can be great because they tend to be
Speaker 1: sunnier than humor pitched for adults. Reading jokes out loud
Speaker 1: can add levity to the evening. You could leave out
Speaker 1: a photo album and inevitably someone will start flipping through
Speaker 1: the pages and recalling memories that you hadn't thought about
Speaker 1: for years. If your family is musical, set out a
Speaker 1: guitar or a ukulele, or put sheet music on the
Speaker 1: piano for songs people might enjoy singing along to, like
Speaker 1: show tunes, Disney songs, or around the holidays Christmas carols.
Speaker 1: Or maybe you will find yourself walking through the house
Speaker 1: tidying and feel the pull to sit down at the
Speaker 1: piano and play for a while. That is a much
Speaker 1: more satisfying way to spend your golden hours than housework.
Speaker 1: If you want your evenings to be more meaningful, you
Speaker 1: don't have to directly ask or encourage your partner, kids,
Speaker 1: or roommates to do something besides screens. You don't have
Speaker 1: to put better evenings on the list. As one more
Speaker 1: self improvement goal you want to pursue, you can simply
Speaker 1: plant an invitation with an object you leave out and
Speaker 1: let the activity unfold. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.