The year is flying by and it’s already time for another Thanksgiving! Traditionally, Thanksgiving is all about sharing comfort food with loved ones. As wonderful as it can be to enjoy this opportunity to reconnect with family and friends, no one wants their holiday celebration to have a negative impact on their health. So how do you keep fitness in mind this Thanksgiving?
All it takes is a bit of planning ahead and making the right choices throughout your Thanksgiving weekend. Try these ideas for Thanksgiving family fitness.
Participate in Local Fitness Events
It has become a popular tradition for communities to host fitness-based events like 5K “turkey trot” fun runs and similar events. These activities can be a great way to start a new tradition with your family, take part in a festive atmosphere, and burn off a few calories before your Thanksgiving feast. Check if there is a “turkey trot” or similar event in your area and sign up the entire family.
Plan a Family Shopping Excursion
Part of the Thanksgiving weekend tradition is jumpstarting your holiday shopping on Black Friday. Along with crossing off many items from your shopping list, a family shopping trip can also get everyone up and moving. After all, you can get a lot of steps in while you’re trekking through a mall or shopping district. For safety, try to choose stores and shopping areas that aren’t at the height of the Black Friday action, like local holiday markets as opposed to superstores.
Start a Green Friday Tradition
There’s a growing movement of replacing or supplementing Black Friday with Green Friday. It’s all about encouraging people to spend the day after Thanksgiving getting out into their local parks, enjoying the outdoors, and giving thanks for the beautiful planet where we live.
For families who want a less commercialized Thanksgiving weekend that also helps them to be active together, Green Friday can be a wonderful tradition. Go on a family hike or head to a local park for a game of frisbee or other athletic outdoor games.
Play a Thanksgiving Parade Game
For many families, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a key part of their holiday celebration. That can involve hours of sitting on the couch, but it doesn’t have to.
Add in a twist this year by turning the parade into a game. Make a list of different sights you might see during the parade and give each one a fun activity to do when it appears. For example, every time you see a balloon of a Disney character, everyone has to do ten jumping jacks. Every time you see someone in the crowd wearing a Santa hat, everyone has to run to the other room and run back again.
Making Your Thanksgiving a Festive (and Healthy) Event
Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a holiday when everyone packs on the pounds. By starting a new family tradition or tweaking traditions you already love, you can help the whole family be more active this year.
To learn more about getting your family active, check out our Mommy and Me fitness program. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for more fitness tips.