Sportacus, the amazingly fit and healthy superhero of Nick Jr.'s hit show LazyTown, has the following 10 tips to help families and kids stay healthy during the holidays:
- Remember to start each day of the season with a healthy breakfast.
- The night before holiday festivities, start bedtime rituals an hour earlier so kids will be better rested.
- Play your favorite kid games, but add a holiday twist by making up new rules – if you are playing freeze tag, have them name all of Santa’s reindeer before they can “unfreeze.”
- Take the family out for a holiday run and share a special activity together as a reward for helping each other finish the course.
- Replace some empty calorie holiday snacks with healthier bite-size treats like fruit and nuts.
- Take a walk after dinner and play I-Spy with all the holiday lights and decorations.
- Use low-fat yogurt to top fruits and vegetables instead of whipped or sour cream.
- Spell out a holiday they’ll eat up. Pick a healthy food for each letter of the holiday - if you’re celebrating Christmas, serve up: carrots for “C”, honeydew for “H”, rice (whole grain, of course) for “R”, etc.
- Instead of making food the center of your holiday celebration, keep the family entertained and active before, during and after the feasts by building a snowman, acting out a holiday story or singing and dancing to your favorite carols.
- Get the kids in on the decorating. Pick out a large area for them to be in charge of and encourage them to cover the entire spot so they’ll be stretching top-to-bottom and side-to-side to get the job done.
