Holiday Humor: Do's and Don'ts

​Back in 2015 I was taking a comedy class in November and decided to write a series of jokes about Christmas songs. They weren't very good, but they were fun to write. One joke was about how there's no difference between Rudolph and Jesus's story - both about a misfit who lights up the world, becoming a savior for his people. Another was about Mommy kissing Santa, like the old song says. Pretty sure they both didn't come off well. And I think I made a Magic Mike joke about Frosty the Snowman taking off his hat. I was in my first year of stand up and thought I needed holiday jokes to survive the winter season. Today, I might have a riff but nothing written down on the set list. Because seasonal jokes aren't a ticket for long term success. It took me 4-5 years to figure that out. 

Let's dive into the pro's and cons of writing specific Christmas jokes and what do with them after Santa leaves you a bag of coal for mocking him on stage. 

Seasonal Jokes Last About As Long as a Christmas Tree 
If there's one issue I have with holiday jokes is that they come and go so quickly, that by the time you craft them to be the most effective, you have to retire them for 11 months. It's like a weird comedy timer in the sky that forbids Christmas jokes before Thanksgiving and after January 1st. Maybe its because people don't want to think about holiday shopping and traveling or the money spent, but if you pay attention you'll see a joke that murdered in mid-December get nothing on January 2nd. 

This is consistent with flash in the pan news stories and movie jokes with films people easily forget. While holidays are usually popular topics with a strong general knowledge, the desire to discuss these topics isn't very strong outside the season. This is why we don't listen to Christmas ballads at malls or watch Snoopy Christmas Specials between January and October. 

While it looks like I'm picking on Christmas topical Christmas jokes, this applies to Halloween, 4th of July, Valentine's Day, etc. People are very narrow minded, and this is a topical joke with a short elf on the shelf life. 

Why Having A Few Holiday Jokes is Smart 
With that said, having a few holiday jokes in the opening part of a set can be a life saver in developing the idea of a spontaneous set. Just joking about the Christmas decorations at the venue or joking about your shopping budget can give you a little energy up front that creates a spirit of inspiration. Holiday jokes smell like newer jokes to a crowd, so they'll think your older jokes are new as well. 

Too often comics write 5-10 minutes all about Christmas or Halloween, and unless it's a theme show (which I love doing) these jokes are draining your creative energy. Like Roast Battle jokes that take away a month of writing for one 3 minute set, holiday jokes can stop the longer lasting stories and punchlines from developing. But having a couple up front, even if a bit hacky, create a new opening joke energy.

Something as simple as making fun of eating too many hot dogs at 4th of July, joking about your costume on Halloween, or even an edgy Memorial or Veterans Day joke can get the crowd thinking that you came to play. 

Don't Recycle Jokes - Use Holidays To Hone Writing Skills 
If you do want to write holiday jokes, I would encourage you to write new ones every season. It's a great way to show yourself your joke writing improvements over the year. Plus, from a psychological perspective, you'll tell the jokes with more energy and excitement knowing you'll never tell them again. Like a list of gifts you'd give Santa, they won't be the same the following year. 

I do enjoy having a few extra jokes to shake things up and being relevant, but I don't want all my jokes to live in a vault where I pull them out on schedule all year long. Once that becomes the game, the fire inside gets dull. Why I'm a huge believer in having a real act (30-60 minutes) of jokes and stories you can take anywhere, I also know being able to play and take risks is where the fun is also. 
Currently, I'm performing in teacher shows where I do 90% of material based on my old teaching career. Only a few of these jokes work with regular audiences, but the hyper focused material goes over great with the teacher crowds. What these special shows do is force me to write new material that actually starts to strengthen my more evergreen jokes.

I also regularly perform on a Horror Film Comedy show where I riff and write disposable horror film jokes. But I find that a few of the jokes can be reframed for general audiences. I once wrote an Omen joke where I stated, "I don't fear the Omen. I taught junior high. And no boy is as scary as an eighth grade girl." 

I converted that joke into my teacher shows which have been in theaters with 500-750 people. "People ask me if I'm scared to perform in these giant theaters. I tell them no. Because I taught junior high. And there is nothing scarier than an eighth grade girl."

Then I just adapt based on the show. The great benefit of keeping your joke writing fresh is you will be able to rearrange jokes to fit the room. Maybe one of your holiday jokes can be transformed into a more evergreen joke in the next few months. 

Final Thoughts 
As the year ends, you might have found yourself feeling forced to write a few Christmas jokes and put the rest of your material on hold until January. Don't worry about that. You can write one or two, or just riff about the holidays, and then go into the new material you hope to use for the long haul, as well as the tried and true. It's up to you, but don't feel the pressure to be topical every week. 

One time I was working with a comic and he was very upset I told him to write jokes that would be usable in three to five years. He wanted to joke about that week's events like Colbert and Jon Stewart did. I told him to use Facebook and Twitter for that and focus on building a real act. That was 5 years ago. Today, he's still focusing on the most recent headlines and he's made no money in comedy...still. 

​Don't let the fear of not being relevant stop you from being a professional comic. Because taking off December to just write jokes about December holidays is basically still just taking off December.