Accessibility links
Life Kit Tools to help you get it together.
Life Kit

Life Kit

Tools To Help You Get It Together
Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

NPR Life Kit listeners share photos from their best theme parties. Left: a vision board for a "Vampire Nights"-themed party; middle: An '80s-themed ski party; right: An Olympics watch party. Photos courtesy of L to R: Gabby Kanu; Arik Colbath; Tom Czech and Elizabeth Novak hide caption

toggle caption
Photos courtesy of L to R: Gabby Kanu; Arik Colbath; Tom Czech and Elizabeth Novak

Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

Hosting a holiday party? NPR's audience shares their best untraditional party ideas and themes — and their strategies to make the experience truly epic.

Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

Listen · 21:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1139047925/1139048422" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.
Annelise Capossela for NPR

The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.

Improv comedy is about more than making people laugh. It can help performers be more creative and self-assured — and combat anxiety, both on and off stage.

The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.

Listen · 22:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1129907651/1139419611" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
5 strategies to help you cope with a nagging feeling of dread
Sol Cotti for NPR

5 strategies to help you cope with a nagging feeling of dread

Worried about deadlines, errands or your holiday to-do list? Reframe your relationship with dread with these simple exercises, from drawing the things that scare you to scheduling worry time.

5 strategies to help you cope with a nagging feeling of dread

Listen · 20:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1138759124/1138784777" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How to create an ancestral altar at home: A cross-cultural guide

Items from NPR Life Kit host Marielle Segarra's ancestral altar, clockwise from right: a Julio Iglesias cassette tape, an address book, a crucifix, a mango candy, a card with a rose depicted on it, eyeglass lenses and a ring. Malaka Gharib/ NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Malaka Gharib/ NPR

How to create an ancestral altar at home: A cross-cultural guide

Spiritual practitioners and Indigenous educators explain how to set up an special place to honor your loved ones.

How to create an ancestral altar at home: A cross-cultural guide

Listen · 23:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1136051123/1136208144" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Want to get better at being thankful? Here are some tips
DrAfter123/Getty Images

Want to get better at being thankful? Here are some tips

Showing appreciation can improve our mental and physical health. But we don't often express it in our daily lives. Here's how to make thankfulness a habit, from starting a gratitude journal to writing a letter to a loved one.

Want to get better at being thankful? Here are some tips

Listen · 18:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1137822057/1137862102" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Traveling for the holidays? 7 tips to help you keep your cool
Malte Mueller/Getty Images/fStop

Perspective

Traveling for the holidays? 7 tips to help you keep your cool

There will probably be long lines, delays and overbooked flights, says aviation journalist Benét Wilson. So take steps to prepare for these situations and make the journey a little more pleasant.

Traveling for the holidays? 7 tips to help you keep your cool

Listen · 12:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1137822672/1138344076" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable
Photographs by Kelli McClintock, Fayiz Musthafa/Unsplash; Collage by Becky Harlan/NPR

Perspective

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable

My partner is constantly texting his former coworker and even spent the night at her house. He says they're just friends, but I don't like it. How can I trust him when he ignores my boundaries?

Dear Life Kit: My boyfriend's relationship with his coworker makes me uncomfortable

Listen · 12:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1136830484/1137177216" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Want to get into credit card points? Here's what you should know
We Are/Getty Images

Life Kit

Want to get into credit card points? Here's what you should know

Credit card rewards programs can offer big perks like airline miles and hotel upgrades. Finance journalist Katherine Fan explains how to choose the right card and what to know before signing up.

Want to get into credit card points? Here's what you should know

Listen · 19:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1134223194/1134292453" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Michelle Obama's best advice on marriage, parenting and being your authentic self

Former first lady Michelle Obama talks to Life Kit about her new book The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times Photograph by Mito Habe Evans/NPR; Collage by Life Kit hide caption

toggle caption
Photograph by Mito Habe Evans/NPR; Collage by Life Kit

Michelle Obama's best advice on marriage, parenting and being your authentic self

In her new memoir, 'The Light We Carry,' the former first lady shares her philosophy on the relationships we have with our partner, our family and ourselves. 'You have to evolve with it,' she says.

Michelle Obama's best advice on marriage, parenting and being your authentic self

Listen · 19:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1132230093/1136944871" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
5 essential ingredients for Mexican cooking (plus one you can't buy at the store)
Reprinted with permission from Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martínez, © 2022. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photography by Ren Fuller © 2022

5 essential ingredients for Mexican cooking (plus one you can't buy at the store)

Want to start making authentic Mexican cuisine at home? Here's what you'll need in your pantry and your fridge to get started, according to two Mexican chefs and cookbook authors.

5 essential ingredients for Mexican cooking (plus one you can't buy at the store)

Listen · 20:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1132205161/1133025243" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Stop hurting your own feelings: Tips on quashing negative self-talk
Alexandr Dubynin/Getty Images

Perspective

Stop hurting your own feelings: Tips on quashing negative self-talk

Can't stop thinking mean thoughts about yourself? Researchers and psychologists share how to break the cycle.

Stop hurting your own feelings: Tips on quashing negative self-talk

Listen · 22:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1133860237/1133860675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
This 15-minute stick figure exercise can help you find your purpose
Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

This 15-minute stick figure exercise can help you find your purpose

Stuck between two conflicting desires and can't seem to move forward? Psychotherapist Satya Doyle Byock shares an exercise called "My Two Conflicting Selves" to help people find a compromise.

This 15-minute stick figure exercise can help you find your purpose

Listen · 15:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1128983339/1129578805" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
3 personal safety tips to help you protect yourself on a night out
Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images

Perspective

Life Kit

3 personal safety tips to help you protect yourself on a night out

Safety experts explain how to prevent harm in nightlife settings like bars and clubs. That includes how to project an air of confidence with your body language — and how to effectively say "no."

3 personal safety tips to help you protect yourself on a night out

Listen · 21:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1132016606/1132043085" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The key to hosting a successful theme party? Start planning early
South_agency/Getty Images

Perspective

The key to hosting a successful theme party? Start planning early

Party planning experts say to send out invites at least 6 weeks in advance. That can give guests ample time to mark their social calendars — and prepare for the big bash. Read on for more tips.

The key to hosting a successful theme party? Start planning early

Listen · 21:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1131622796/1131715656" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Dear Life Kit: I cared for our dad. Now my greedy siblings want the inheritance
Photos by Jacques Bopp/Unsplash, Becky Harlan/NPR

Dear Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: I cared for our dad. Now my greedy siblings want the inheritance

She cared for her stepdad through illness and death. Now she's disheartened that her siblings only seem to care about the inheritance. Financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin weighs in.

Dear Life Kit: I cared for our dad. Now my greedy siblings want the inheritance

Listen · 12:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1129659328/1129949833" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The 5-minute daily playtime ritual that can get your kids to listen better

Life Kit visuals editor Becky Harlan engages her 2-year-old son, August Grabowsky, in "special time." It's a kind of child-directed playtime that children's health professionals say can be helpful in treating disruptive conduct in kids. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Meredith Rizzo/NPR

The 5-minute daily playtime ritual that can get your kids to listen better

Called "special time," the strategy is widely recommended by children's health professionals to help reduce behavioral issues in young children. Here's a guide on how to do it with your kids at home.

The 5-minute daily playtime ritual that can get your kids to listen better

Listen · 14:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1128737199/1129326032" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
For stomach pain and other IBS symptoms, new apps can bring relief

A new treatment approach helps people with IBS symptoms like stomach pain, bloating and diarrhea find relief through a combination of dietary and stress management strategies. Alexandr Kolesnikov/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Alexandr Kolesnikov/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

For stomach pain and other IBS symptoms, new apps can bring relief

If you often have pain, bloating, urgency or other symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, you may have IBS. Here's how to find relief, using the latest science and a new generation of apps.

For stomach pain and other IBS symptoms, new apps can bring relief

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1129325699/1129333652" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
It's hygge season: How to embrace the Danish lifestyle of rest and coziness
Anastasiia Krivenok/Getty Images

It's hygge season: How to embrace the Danish lifestyle of rest and coziness

The weather is cooling down and it's time to take a load off and snuggle under the blankets. NPR's Life Kit podcast shares 11 ways to embrace leisure and relaxation this fall season.

It's hygge season: How to embrace the Danish lifestyle of rest and coziness

Listen · 24:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1128960386/1129441178" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Busting 5 common myths about water and hydration
Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

Busting 5 common myths about water and hydration

Do you really need to drink eight glasses of water a day? Can drinking water help you lose weight? Does coffee dehydrate you? Experts explain the science of hydration.

Busting 5 common myths about water and hydration

Listen · 19:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1124371309/1124402482" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How to change your kid's behavior, according to the host of a hit parenting podcast
Tilda Rose for NPR

Perspective

How to change your kid's behavior, according to the host of a hit parenting podcast

It all starts with the assumption that your kids have good intentions and want to do the right thing, says Becky Kennedy, a psychologist and host of the Good Inside parenting podcast.

How to change your kid's behavior, according to the host of a hit parenting podcast

Listen · 18:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1124314881/1124820908" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How to stop stewing about something you've taken (a little too) personally
Richard Drury/Getty Images

Perspective

How to stop stewing about something you've taken (a little too) personally

Being offended by something that someone did or said can be upsetting — but it doesn't have to eat away at us. Mental health experts share how to slow down and gain clarity when things get personal.

How to stop stewing about something you've taken (a little too) personally

Listen · 22:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1124806233/1125258049" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org