FEATURE — Is fitness on your mind this time of year? December is a busy month. There are often school projects wrapping up, after-school activities with extra performances or events and end-of-year projects at work, not to mention all the prep work for the holidays.
It is easy to tell yourself, “I’ll exercise in January,” but what if you started now? What if you found little ways to be active each day while still enjoying the holidays?
MyPlate suggests you make moving part of every event. They tell us that moving makes everyone feel good. Dancing, moving, playing active games, wiggling and giggling add fun to any gathering.
Action for Healthy Kids shares great tips to keep kids active during winter break. Use these ideas to keep your kids moving, or add them to your holiday plans to help everyone move more.
- Play indoor hopscotch. Use painter’s tape to create squares on the floor.
- Play Hot Lava. Put several pillows on the floor and space them apart. Instruct kids to jump from pillow to pillow. If they fall off the pillows, they will be falling off into hot lava.
- Purchase an aerobic exercise DVD or stream a fitness video to get your heart pumping!
- Play Red Light, Green Light or other small group games that children pick and lead.
- Shovel snow.
- Play Simon Says.
- Build an indoor fort out of pillows and blankets.
- Have a jump rope challenge in the garage. Who can do the most in a minute?
- Start each morning with a 10-minute stretch and wake session before breakfast.
- Play charades.
- Practice yoga.
- Go ice skating or roller skating.
- Bundle up and take a hike or a neighborhood walk.
During the holidays, I like to take time to really focus on my family. We try to do a fun activity together every day of December. Christmas movies are often at the top of our list.
To keep us active, we’ve been playing physical activity games while we watch. Click here to check out some examples, and give them a try!
What’s a movie without a snack? Whip up a quick Christmas popcorn mix for a serving of healthy whole grains and a little treat, too.
How will you stay active this holiday season? Enjoy!
Written by CANDI MERRITT, Certified Nutrition Education Ambassador.
This article originally appeared Dec. 17, 2020 on the USU Extension Create Better Health blog.
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