It’s an inevitable result of scoffing down Christmas dinner along with copious amounts of beer/wine/Bailey’s and other forms of festive cheer. Mumbles of “stick a fork in me, I’m done” are paired with the sneaky release provided by the undoing of a pant button or two and that’s only if you weren’t seasoned enough to wear an elasticated number to allow for the unavoidable expansion of one’s middle. Overeating leads to overheating as the meat-sweats kick in and your peripheral sight disappears to allow only for a tunnel-vision view of the sofa in the adjoining family room. On a speedy scan of the people around you, you quickly notice that there are others preying on your spot. They too have found themselves held hostage to their lack of self-control and are desperately searching for a safe resting place where they can digest and recoup and stay safely under the radar so as not to fall foul to dishwashing demands. Then it hits you like a Christmas pudding to the face. You are your grandfather’s grandchild. Before you know it you’ll be snoring in front of the telly, mouth open, engorged belly exposed and quite honestly nobody wants to see that.
So in order to delay that rapid slope to a geriatric couch coma, we came up with some alternative things you can do to aid in fighting that after-turkey ‘meh’. Who wants to waste Christmas snoozing on the sofa anyway? Not this guy…
Make the most of the snow
As Canadians we are lucky to experience extreme seasons. I know not everyone agrees that a 20cm snow fall would be considered ‘lucky’ but there is something about seeing the white stuff on Christmas day that just makes it all the more magical. So get your backside outside and make like a true Canadian! Build a snowman, pummel your kids/nieces/nephews/cousins with snowballs then pull them along on a sled to stop them from crying. Make snow angels, go tobogganing and before you know it you will have burnt off that feeling of excess and you may even be ready for a turkey sandwich.
Have a dance party
Take full advantage of that after dinner buzz and take on the role of family choreographer. You can make use of the kids new computer games such as ‘Just Dance 2014’ or you can get them jumping to your very own yuletide playlist. Burn some killer cals and forge some serious family bonding time. You can even post your efforts online and start a dance off with friends/family a la the Hough vs. Menounos Thanksgiving dance-off.
Orchestrate a Christmas performance
Bring back some old school family Christmas and sing! Pull the miniatures away from the TVs, the iPads and the Playstation, it’s time to warm up those lungs and pay tribute to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! This one is sure to get the oldies involved too because we all know that Grandma just loves a good old sing-along.
Be in a Christmas movie
Everybody has their favourite Christmas movie and within that movie is a scene that you should definitely re-enact for your loved ones. Split the family up into teams and get creative. Raid every closet in the house and scour for the perfect props because you will be scored by a carefully selected panel of judges (whoever really doesn’t have the flair for stage) and the winning team dodges any cleanup duty for the rest of the day – Boom. Just maybe steer clear of the toboggan down the stairs scene from ‘Home Alone’… nobody really wants to spend Christmas in A&E.
Game time
Nope, this game time does not involve the TV, X-Box or PVR box. This game time requires full family participation to ensure maximum competitive energy and shall focus solely on classic games styles such as Monopoly, Scattergories or Charades. Although along the Charades line is preferably as an after-turkey event because it forces people to get up and moving and shake off that looming lethargy. Get loud, get animated and get competitive because what is a family Christmas without some form of tension?
