Thanksgiving, medicine birthdays, viagra 60mg Christmas… our culture incorporates an abundance of food into most holidays and celebrations.Well, what if we tried to incorporate activity into our holidays, too? What would this look like? What ways could activity fit into holiday celebrations?

 

Adding Low-Intensity Activities To Holidays

Nearly every Thanksgiving from my teenage years on, my family has taken a walk after our Thanksgiving meal. With full bellies, we may not feel comfortable enough to partake in high-intensity exercise. A simple walk allows us time to continue visiting with family (or friends), gratefully enjoy God’s artistry in the season, and include a little activity.

Low-intensity exercise reduces fatigue, expends calories, and allows for safer modes of exercise.

Other low-intensity activities you can include around a special event: a leisurely bike ride, raking leaves, social dancing.

 

Fun with Games

Kids love to be active and often look forward to chances to run around and play.

 

For our son’s most recent birthday, we put together an ABC Activity Hunt birthday party. Kids ranging from 2 years to 13 years worked together to complete 26 activities featuring each letter of the alphabet. The teens (and some parents, too) paired up with younger kids and each pair ran around the playing area looking for each letter (in whatever order they wanted).

Each letter card gave directions to a quick 20- or 30-second activity. The kids tallied completed letter exercises on a simple task card. A majority of our activities were exercise-related, and a few were social- or subject-focused.

(Our son uses sign language as his primary mode of communication, so we included the ASL alphabet on the station cards.) The kids had a blast and fit in some solid exercise time!

Other game ideas: Creating your own Christmas games, family night life-size active board game, beginning of the homeschool year active phonics game.

Activity with Purpose

With Christmas approaching, charitable giving increases. Think about what active ways you could also support favorite charities or missions. Run or walk a 5k together as a family. Participate in a fundraising bike ride.

What if one of your children practices a more uncommon sport, like fencing or horseback riding? Even if there are no charity events in your area for you or your child’s favorite activity, your child can still set specific mileage, time, or training goals and fundraise in support of meeting those goals and giving to a cause in need.

 

What exercise-inclusive activities could you and your family incorporate this Christmas season? How could some of your traditional celebrations include activity? Could any of that activity also help fill a need in the greater community?