According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the term whimsy means “unusual, funny, and pleasant ideas or qualities.”

When we are kids we have no issues tapping into our inner whimsical tendencies. We will host tea-parties with our imaginary friends with zero shame and give inanimate objects full-blown personalities.

But somewhere down the line, as the bills come in and we’re consistently made to shoulder adult responsibilities, we lose our sense of whimsy—when in fact, we need it more as adults than we ever did as kids.

As a woman in her thirties, here are 20 ways I’ve discovered to invite more whimsy into daily life.

1. Give your car a name.
2. Eat your dessert first.
3. Incorporate something quirky into your everyday office look.
4. Take a spontaneous class (i.e. live drawing, pottery).
5. Give adult coloring a crack (it has proven to be surprisingly therapeutic).
6. Learn about a new topic and start a knowledge journal around it.
7. Call your morning coffee a “potion of wakefulness.”
8. Come up with a name and personality for your alter-ego.
9. Take a moment to sketch your surroundings.
10. Create a special playlist to go grocery shopping.
11. Cultivate a creative practice that is solely aligned to you and your personality.
12. Tell your dishes it is “bath time.”
13. Take up card reading. You might not get it right but you will definitely learn a thing or two.
14. Go cloud watching.
15. Watch your favorite animals ‘live’ via zoo cameras.
16. Say your affirmations as you go through your night routine.
17. Ask your fairies for help when you lose anything.
18. Listen to the Disney playlist while completing your errands.
19. Name your plants and read them a section from your favourite book.
20. Drink tea in a vintage tea cup set.