Christmas break is great—and so is relaxing and eating TONS of food. But, fitness is the key to a healthy holiday, as well.

Granted, there’s nothing better than to sit down, relax, and not have to do except choose which cookie to eat next. But, it’s also a good way to put on unwanted extra pounds over break. Therefore, students may want to put a little jingle in their step by getting up on their feet doing some exercises. If lucky enough to get a fitness membership for Christmas, then all one needs to do is put on some workout clothes and high-tail it to the gym. However, it’s more likely that the rest will just slip on their pajamas pants and exercise their thumbs on the X-Box controller.

During game breaks, though, try to fit in a small workout—beyond walking to the kitchen for more food! There are so many exercises that can be done right at home: lunges, pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks, planks, crunches, squats. There are also so many activities to help stay in shape. “How I am going to keep my shape and exercise this Christmas break will be by doing basketball and continuing football and just working out,” shares Juan Romo, 10. He also plans on “eating healthy—like a lot of fruits and vegetables—as well.”

   Along those same lines, Juan Arias, 11, proposed that “drinking a lot of water can cut down some weight.” Explaining further, he adds, “So, if you drink a gallon a day, you can take out a meal a day replace it with a gallon of water.”

Jaylen Jester, 11, however, is not ready to take it that far. Instead, he simply suggests a bit of moderation over the holidays. “No eating junk food–and don’t binge eat!”

   Thus, while many may be tempted to over-eat over the Christmas break, resist that urge and choose a healthier way to spend the holidays. Leave the weight-gaining to Santa!