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4. Create healthy food traditions.

Much of the holidays are focused on food and many families have special dishes that have become traditions. Those “traditional dishes” are often highly caloric and filled with fat. Grandmother’s sausage stuffing, or Aunt Sara’s cheesy casserole might be a “must” for every holiday meal, but they can also leave you feeling weighed down with unnecessary greases and starches. Instead, Dr. Hes recommends creating new healthier favorites that are reserved only for the holidays and get kids excited to see them on the table. Check out some of these healthy special occasion recipes at Real Healthy Recipes for ideas.
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5. Non-Food Activities.

Food may play an important role in the holidays, but adding other fun into the festivities takes the focus off eating. Kids love games, making arts and crafts, decorating the house, acting out stories, and loads of other activities that can involve the whole family. Use the month of December for a 31 Days of Play challenge. Be creative and come up with something that is unique and special to your family’s holiday traditions.

6. Movement.

Get your family moving. It’s great to play outside while the food is cooking, just be sure to bundle your kids up. The whole family can take a brisk walk after a big feast. The kids get a big kick out of carrying flashlights and going out for a walk in the dark! Have games set up at home that the kids can play like jump rope or hula-hoop competitions that they can do indoors.

About Dr. Dyan Hes

Dyan Hes, MD, named a 2014 top doctor by NEW YORK magazine, is the Medical Director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City and sits on the board of the Ameican Board of Obesity Medicine. She completed her residency in Social Pediatrics at New York’s Albert Einstein School of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and currently serves as Clinical Assistant Professor Pediatrics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Prior to founding Gramercy Pediatrics, she maintained a primary care practice in addition to spearheading several research programs and health initiatives in the New York area. She has received many honors and served on many boards and committees in both pediatrics and obesity medicine.