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Tips for a Sane and Safe Holiday Season
The holiday season can be the best time of the year with parties, seeing friends and relatives, and taking time to renew and reflect. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s can also be the most difficult times to keep from going overboard with spending, drinking, and eating. Here are a few ideas on getting through the holidays...
Budget
We all have limits, but some are better at sticking to a budget than others. Here are some guidelines:
- Try to set a reasonable limit on spending for the holidays at least a week before you begin to shop. Calculate what food, entertaining, decorations, gifts, and travel will cost.
- Delegate costs and responsibilities to others who are close to you and share in the fun. For example, ask your sister to bring a dessert, your friends to bring a festive punch. People like to be included and it takes some of the cost and pressure off you.
- Pay for what you can in cash. Every time you add to your credit card bill, you may pay up to 20 percent more for each purchase—depending on your interest rate.
Staying Safe and Sober
It isn’t necessary to have a drinking problem to have problems with drinking over the holidays. Try these ideas:
- Alternate sodas and juice with alcoholic drinks at parties. Having a glass in your hand may be a habit—make it work for you, not against you.
- Practice designated driver safety. One member of your party should agree not to drink alcohol at all so he/she can drive your group home in safety. Tell your host/hostess that a designated driver is among you, and ask for their support.
- Bring along money for a bus, train, or taxi home. You may find you overdid it, are too tired to drive, or your ride has been drinking. Protect yourself and your loved ones by thinking ahead for this possibility.
- Remember to eat if you are drinking. One drink on an empty stomach can hit surprisingly hard, so have a meal before you drink and graze on healthy snacks at cocktail parties.
Maintain Your Weight
Many of us are routinely on diets, but the holidays are an especially difficult time to avoid overeating. Sometimes we feel so deprived from dieting during
the year that when December comes we go a bit crazy. Consider these ideas:
- Concentrate on eating a low fat diet during the day and save your fat calories for parties.
- Use your lunchtime for exercise: a brisk walk, a trip to the gym...
- Bring a platter of raw vegetables and low-cal dip to any party you attend as a favor to the host/hostess and to yourself.
- Keep healthy snacks available for “munchies” attacks. Plain air-popped popcorn (25 calories per cup), fruit, veggies, rice cakes, and dry cereal are all low fat, high fiber, and filling.
- When you do indulge, keep quantities low. Having a small slice of cake is better than two helpings; mashed potatoes are lower in calories without the butter (64 calories per tablespoon); pie is much better without the whipped cream (837 calories per cup!).
- Skip greasy, fat-laden fast food. Opt for salad options, non-cream soups, or a baked potato with low-cal toppings.
- Alcohol is very caloric and has no nutrition value. One beer is 150 calories, a glass of dry wine is 85 calories, sweet wine is 140 calories, and one shot of hard liquor is 110 calories.
