Twelve Fun Ways to Stay Active During the Holidays

From spending time with friends and family to enjoying favorite food traditions, it’s easy to get caught up in the holiday cheer and forget about our health goals. As tempting as it can be to spend all day eating cookies and watching Love Actually over and over again, by the time New Years day rolls around we’re left with a holiday-hangover: feeling sluggish and unhealthy.

Instead of dreading the scale this year, burn off some of those holiday calories by staying active! Here are twelve gym-free ways to get moving, while still getting quality time with family and friends. Note: calorie estimate is based off a 155 Lb person. Actual calories burned will vary based on personal factors including weight, muscle mass, gender, and intensity.

1. Throw a dance party (no actual dance-skills required!) From grandma to your five year-old niece, everyone loves to dance!  You can get creative and put together the ultimate dance playlist or let the pro’s do the mixing and pick a pre-made playlist on your go-to music streaming service. Thirty minutes of dancing burns approximately 223 calories.
2. Get adventurous with an Escape Room. While you may be thinking of escape rooms as being scary, most are actually just fun, adventure-themed games where you have to work as a team to solve a series of riddles and puzzles before the time runs out. Depending on the options available in your city, there may even be some holiday-themed options! Depending on how much moving around you do (and how much mental effort you expend), thirty minutes can burn 150-223 calories).
3. Play an active video game. Instead of trying to keep the kids away from their video games, join them! There are so many games out there that will have you up out of the couch and moving. Just Dance and Wii Sports are classics, but there are many others out there for range of age (and skill)-levels. Thirty minutes will burn around 149 calories.
4. Go alpine skiing or snowboarding. If you are spending your holidays near a ski mountain, you can burn some serious calories hitting the slopes! Thirty minutes of alpine skiing or snowboarding burns approximately 223 calories.
5. Sign up for a fun-run (or walk). You don’t have to be the best runner to enjoy a local fun-run. Depending on where you live, there are many holiday-themed 5k runs (and some run/walks) where you can dress up and just have a fun time outside! Thirty minutes of jogging at a 10 min/mile pace burns 372 calories.
6. Go snowshoeing. If you have snow but don’t have a  ski pass, you can still get a serious workout by snowshoeing. Perfect for all age-levels, you can make it a day-long outing by filling up a thermos with a hot beverage and packing snacks. Just be sure to dress in layers as you can work up quite a sweat even in the cold weather. Thirty minutes of snowshoeing burns about 298 calories.
7. Let your inner-kid out and go sledding. Another option perfect for adults and kids alike, sledding can be quite a workout bringing the sled up the hill over and over again. And the steeper/longer the hill, the more calories you’ll burn. Thirty minutes sledding on a medium-sized hill burns about 260 calories.
8. Be brave and go ice skating. Okay, so bravery may or may not be necessary (for me ice skating takes considerable courage). As with many of these, ice skating is something the whole family can enjoy and you don’t have to live somewhere cold and snowy to do it. Thirty minutes of general ice skating burns about 260 calories.
9. Divide into teams for capture the flag. An oldie but a goody, capture the flag is a great way to get family, friends, and neighbors all involved. For a fun night-time twist, use glow sticks instead of flags. As long as you stay moving for most of the game, running around for thirty minutes burns around 298 calories.
10. Throw around a ball (or frisbee). While football is usually a Thanksgiving Day past-time, get in a rematch during the holidays. Not into football? Ultimate frisbee, soccer, hockey, and basketball are all easy, but fun, ways to let your competitive spirit out while also burning off those Christmas cookies. Thirty minutes of any of these activities can burn anywhere from 112-298 calories.
11. Get creative and go on a scavenger hunt. This one takes a bit more planning, but is super fun for all ages. All you need are some clues and a prize at the end for people to find. Everyone will be so busy running around from clue-to-clue that they’ll forget they’re also getting steps in. Thirty minutes of quickly walking/lightly jogging to each clue will burn 223 calories.
12. Take a walking tour of houses decked out with Christmas lights. Rather than piling into the car, take your friends and family on a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy all the Christmas lights and decorations. If your neighborhood isn’t into decorating, drive to a neighborhood that you can walk around instead. Thirty minutes of walking at a 17 min/mile pace burns about 150 calories.

Also don’t forget to give yourself credit for you activities by logging it in your Lose It App! How do you stay active through the holidays? Share in the comments below!