Wouldn?t it be great if you could package laughter up and give it as a Christmas gift? Try wrapping up tickets to a new comedy show featuring world class funnymen opening in January.

Transact.bm presents Just for Laughs Bermuda will be on at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel from January 11 to 13. It is the brainchild of Canadian Richard Simon who runs Island Advertising Specialities and Incentis.

There will be six comedians performing including Alonzo Bodden from the United States, Jeremy Hotz from Canada, Lee Mack from the United Kingdom, Rocky LaPorte from the United States, Frank Olivier from the United States and Bermudian Nadanja Bailey.

?Alonzo Bodden is a Last Comic Standing Winner. He is probably more well known in Bermuda than some of the others,? said Mr. Simon. ?Lee Mack is huge. He is one of the hottest comedians in the United Kingdom. For a first-year event like ours we can?t believe how lucky we are to have him.?

Mr. Mack apparently agreed to take part in the show because he liked the idea of a vacation in Bermuda. He is bringing his whole family to the Island. He is a British Academy of Film and Television award winner, and host of ?They Think It?s All Over?, star of Jack Dee Live at the Apollo and BBC1 sitcom ?Not Going Out?.

Mr. Simon was inspired to start Just for Laughs Bermuda after attending the Just for Laughs summer festival in Montreal.

?I attended that almost every summer,? he said. ?It is the largest comedy festival on the planet. They have a French part and an English part.?

When Mr. Simon moved his business to Bermuda he decided to find a way to bring Just for Laughs with him.

?Before I moved, I thought ?wow, wouldn?t it be great if we could Just for Laughs could do a show in Bermuda?. That was about four or five years ago that I first had the idea. I needed time to move, and put my feet on the ground. Then I started negotiating with Just for Laughs in Canada. They liked the idea. Basically, I hired Just For Laughs to create the show in Bermuda. They have the reputation and the contacts, and I am not in the comedy business.? Although Mr. Simon is not a professional comedian, he admitted that he does like to be the joker from time to time.

?I am the funny guy,? he said. ?I am the guy where people are always saying ?is he joking, or is this real?? I have always loved making people laugh, but I am certainly not a comedian. I have no aspiration to be a comedian.?

Mr. Simon said he loves living in Bermuda with his family, and wanted to give something back to the community, ?as corny as it sounds?.

?This is truly a world class event,? he said. ?We don?t get a lot of top notch things coming to Bermuda. You get your reggae shows, and there are stars in that, but comedy is something that transcends age and economic levels, as long as people can afford the ticket price.?

Just for Laughs Bermuda will be held in the Midocean Amphitheatre at the Fairmont Southampton.

?It is a beautiful room that is made for comedy,? Mr. Simon said. ?As soon as I saw it I said we have to do it here.?

There will be one show on Thursday, January 11, and two shows on Friday and Saturday, January 12 and 13. The show will be broken up by a performance by a comedic juggler. There will also be an Intimate Show held in the Wine Cellar for corporate buyers and sponsors of the event. There are still a few corporate tickets left.

Tickets are $65 including a drink. There is a dinner package available through the Fairmont at Bacci Restaurant for $49 including gratuities and a three-course dinner. On Friday there will again be dinner available at Bacci and also at the Waterlot Inn for $79 including gratuities.

These packages have to be booked through the Fairmont Southampton.

Ten percent of ticket sales from Just for Laughs Bermuda will be donated to the Kathmandu Kids Club, a local charity that sends money to Nepal to help homeless and impoverished kids. To learn more about the comedians featured in the event, or to book tickets to Just for Laughs Bermuda go to www.comedyevent.bm or telephone 292-7232.