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Theme PARC - Tips for an Active Holiday Season
Issue: September 2003
Topic: Tips for an Active Holiday Season (for use in December 2003)
Resources and Programming Ideas
For the Community
- A Jingle Bell Walk is a good way to build community spirit and health. The City of Kingston has a very well-attended Jingle Bell Walk, which finishes at City Hall with a caroling and Holiday lights event. Additional details on the Kingston event are available at http://www.healthunit.ca/programs/activity_events.html
- The Christmas Bird Count is done in over 1800 localities across Canada, the United States and Latin America. Each local group of birders picks a day between December 14 and January 5th, sets out a 24-km diameter circle, then does their best to count all the birds within that circle on the selected day. In Canada, the program is coordinated through Bird's Studies Canada (http://www.bsc-eoc.org/national/cbcmain.html ). Links from this website will also give you information on local clubs organizing bird counts who you may wish to partner with.
For Workplaces
- Consider an active component to the Holiday staff party: dance, caroling through the neighborhood, active presents gift exchange, or just a group walk to go to your favorite restaurant.
For Schools
- Jingle Bell Run. The Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Health Unit organizes a running event which combines physical activity and community goodwill for the Holiday season through a local Food Drive. A summary of this initiative can be found at http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/parc/Bringnbrag/KFL&A2.pdf and program materials can be downloaded at http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/rcc00023.pdf
- Holiday Games and Activities. This book from Barbara Wnek will provide teachers and youth leaders fun activities for children in Grades K-6 for all holidays (not just Christmas!). ISBN: 0873223551, 1992, Available from Human Kinetics, www.humankinetics.com, ($25.95)
Ideas for Individuals for an Active Holiday Season
- When planning entertainment for company, include some form of physical activity. This can be anything from a short walk in the neighborhood to an all-day, cross-country ski outing. If you have a few people around, suggest a game of snow volleyball or snow soccer! You can also have a game of snowshoe golf, using tennis balls or tin cans.
- Give "active presents": toboggans, skates, snowshoes, leisure center passes, etc. (See the list of suggestions for children further in this document.)
- Try to get your children more active by planning for a physical activity each day. Find out when public skating is available at local arenas. Watch for the opening of the outdoor rinks and skating ovals. Organize a skating party. Try cross-country skiing. An afternoon of tobogganing on the hills, snow sculpting, building snow forts and making snow angels is always fun. If the cold becomes too difficult to handle, keep in mind the public swimming pools generally offer family and public swim times during the holidays.
- When you're going holiday shopping, park at the furthest end of the parking lot instead of circling for the closest spot. Carry those packages all the way back to the car.
- Get moving on the dance floor at holiday parties. Get in the holiday mood by dancing to music in the comfort of your home.
- Spend some time relaxing and stretching to relieve holiday stress. Take a Yoga class or rent a Yoga DVD or video.
- Add physical activity to your "to do" list and give it the same importance as your other errands. Remember that being active can increase your energy level.
- Maximize your time. Use your lunch break to walk to a nearby shopping center to do holiday errands. Try to do anything that gets you moving. All activities add up - lugging a toddler around the house, taking the stairs instead of the escalator when shopping, or going window shopping.
- Get outside by yourself, or with your kids, your spouse or a friend. Sitting around the house all day smelling the food cooking will keep you salivating and your stomach growling.
- Shoveling snow or chopping wood is a great workout. Just be sure to warm up first, protect your back and not overdo it if you have not been active regularly.
- Keep an activity journal or a calendar. This can help you stay motivated by making daily physical activity goals for yourself and keeping track of what you have accomplished.
- Let go of the guilt. If you happen to overindulge one day, be easy on yourself. Start over the next day - eat a healthy diet and get some physical activity. Most importantly, enjoy the spirit of the season - being among family and friends - rather than just the food and the drinking; and you'll be well on your way to a healthy and happy New Year.
- Build a backyard skating rink over the holidays. For tips, check Go For Green's Ice Dream website: http://www.icedreams.ca/english/howto/backyard.aro
En français à, http://www.revesdeglace.ca/francais/howto/backyard.aro
- Find a "U-Pick" Christmas Tree farm and go and cut down and haul your Christmas tree yourself.
- If you are considering purchasing exercise equipment as gifts (to yourself or for someone else!), you may want to research the topic a little beforehand. For an unbiased article on choosing exercise equipment, check this article published in 1997 in the Physician and Sportsmedicine Journal: http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/01jan/eqpt.htm.
- The American Council on Exercise also has some "FitFacts" which may be relevant for Christmas shopping:
And now for something new & different….
- Have you heard of Kick Sledding? It is a mode of transportation which is basically a mix between cross-country skiing and dog-sledding (except there are no dogs pulling you!). It originated in Scandinavia and was a demonstration sport in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. The rider stands up behind a sled which offers a hand-support and kicks using one foot. It can be described as "a chair with a handlebar on cross-country skis". Information on this relatively new sport to Canada is available on this commercial website: http://www.crossled.com/
Content is provided as an information-sharing service and inclusion does not represent endorsement by PARC, Ophea or their funders.
Supported by the Government of Ontario
Give the Gift of Health this Holiday Season
Parents and caregivers are often looking for ways to encourage their children to be physically active. Give a gift this season that promotes health by giving the children on your list a gift that keeps them moving. Need ideas?
For the infants on your list
Help them develop both their large and small muscles along with hand-eye coordination by offering toys that encourage them to reach, grab, crawl, pull up and eventually walk. Good bets…
- Mobiles that hang over the crib that infants can reach for, bat at and listen to.
- Activity mats and centers that encourage baby to crawl, pull herself up and walk holding on.
- Stacking toys.
- Large balls and toys that roll, encouraging baby to follow.
For the toddler on your list
One and two year old children are on the move. Give gifts that will help them develop their coordination and gross motor skills to get them crawling, pulling up, walking and moving. Good bets…
- Large blocks to build structures such as forts and palaces.
- Push and pull toys your youngster can walk with.
- Ride-on animals, trucks and cars that they need to peddle to ride.
- Music to dance to.
For the preschooler on your list
Three, four and five year old children are more coordinated than their younger counterparts. To continue to help them develop their coordination and gross motor skills consider…
- A small basketball hoop with a matching size ball.
- Tricycles and other 3 wheel bikes.
- Large blocks for building.
- Music to dance to.
- Small slides, swings, play houses for outdoor or basement play.
- Toboggans and other sliding toys.
For the 5-9 year old children on your list
After a day at school, they need to burn off some of their excess energy. Consider…
- Jump ropes.
- A snow shovel.
- Music to dance to along with their own tape recorder or cassette player.
- In line skates or ice skates, depending on your climate and options available.
- Toboggans and other sliding toys.
For the 9-14 year old children on your list
Kids between these ages are starting to enjoy team sports and activities. They are also starting to develop hobbies or strong interests of their own. Consider…
- Inline or ice skates, bicycles, scooters or skateboards. Buy reflective stickers, clothing and bike reflectors for older kids who may be out after dark and include, as part of your gift, a helmet, elbow pads, wrist guards and knee pads when giving in line skates, scooters or skateboards.
- Equipment for their favorite sport-balls, mitts or racquets.
- Introductory lessons for something that interests your child. This may be a gift certificate for several months of karate, dance, gymnastics or skating.
- Music to dance to.
Best of all, what ever your child's age, give them the gift of your time. Plan a time for just the two of you to do something together. Take a hike together, go skating or take a class together. It'll be a special gift that you'll both remember for years to come!
Adapted from La Crosse County Government
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