Oh, Monday. There aren't a whole lot of folk who love Mondays. Kids dread going back to school. The nine-to-fivers dread going back to work. It's a day of having to pay bills or answer emails you avoided on Friday or sign forms or go to the dentist. When was the last time you heard someone say "Yippee, it's Monday! Can't wait for today!" Never, right? Maybe it's time we did something about it. Instead of a ho-hum day, followed by a blah dinner and ending with a boring night of nothingness, let's spice it up a bit.

- MONDAY MOVIE-THON: Why not make Mondays movie night? You were going to veg in front of the TV anyway. We can all just pretend it's an extra weekend day and invite family and friends over for a movie night fest. Everyone gets a turn to "own" Monday night. They pick the movie, the dinner, the snacks and drinks. Move the couches and chairs around to watch theatre-style, dim the lights, hand out paper bags filled with popcorn and launch the week with style.

- GIVE AND GET: Make Mondays volunteer night. There are plenty of organizations in your town that would love your help. Just go online and do a quick search, make a few phone calls (to guarantee that kids can help out, too) and put it on your calendar. From working at food banks to visiting the elderly at nursing homes to sorting clothes at the Salvation Army, your family (or friends) will bond, expand your worldview, feel empowered with self-esteem and - bonus - help others at the same time. It's a great way to spend quality time with one another, instill the value of altruism and start your week off with the warm fuzzies that come from volunteering.

- GAME TIME ANYONE? Sports are a great double whammy (fun and healthy) activity, and it doesn't matter what sport you pick. Maybe have a standing tennis doubles game every Monday at 7 p.m., or go out on the lawn for some tag football. If you know someone is waiting on you to show up and play, it will help make you get changed and get going. Maybe have a male versus female Frisbee game or set up a three-hole golf game in your backyard. Live sports on TV Monday night? No problem. If you're up for fast-paced excitement, try your hand at something really different. Head to www.1up.me to get a free app that connects sports fans to the live event. So you're not just sitting on the couch being passive and boring, you're actually interacting with the game and other players in real time - and when your team wins, you win, too.

- DEALERS CHOICE: Similar to sports night, dealer's choice is focused more on the cards. Gather up your family and friends for some Poker or 21. Hand out the chips, shuffle the cards, offer up pizza and snacks and you're good to go. Make sure everyone gets a chance to deal and pick the game. Be open to learning new games and even print out some rules of ones you've never tried before. Dealer's choice can be a roving game where you start at your house this Monday and move to your buddy's next Monday and so on. If you want to set the mood, pick up some traditional poker hats, green felt boards and real poker chips. Poker certainly makes Mondays feel more like the weekend, and, hey, you may even walk away with a few bucks to boot.

Effective immediately, Monday is rescued from its hated status and elevated to a new and exciting home of family, friends and fun.

Paula Sirois is a Florida-based writer who specializes in all things online, frugal living and family life and can be reached at paulapla@gmail.com

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