- Some holiday activities can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes, Dr. Amy West, sports medicine physician at Northwell Health, tells PEOPLE
- Vacuuming pine needles and walking around the neighborhood to look at holiday lights are a few of the top calorie-burners
- Wrapping gifts and decorating a tree can help work on posture and range of motion
It’s the most wonderful time of the year … to burn a few extra calories while decking the halls and jingling bells.
While wrapping gifts and hanging stockings are no substitute for a treadmill, as Dr. Amy West, sports medicine physician at Northwell Health, tells PEOPLE, you can still burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes of festive fun.
West says these calorie-burning activities can burn off an extra cookie or two, but don’t take it too seriously. Above all, she encourages balance. “It’s the holiday time, so enjoy the food you’re going to enjoy — because it’s just part of the spirit.”
Hanging Lights: 200 Calories
You can burn up to 200 calories in 30 minutes of hanging lights, West tells PEOPLE, especially if you’re “going up and down a ladder.” She explains that climbing, as well as hammering nails, can be considered more intense activities.
Vacuuming Under the Tree: 300 Calories
Cleaning under a shedding tree can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes. “Vacuuming can be a pretty intense activity,” West says, explaining that the pushing and pulling is also good for range of motion. She also suggests straightening up before guests, like going up and down stairs with the vacuum, or bending down to pick up things, to add to the burn — “especially the longer you do it.”
Wrapping Gifts: 100 Calories
While this doesn’t exactly torch calories — you’re likely burning less than 100 in 30 minutes of gift wrapping — West tells PEOPLE, “If you’re sitting on the floor wrapping a gift, it can actually benefit your mobility and help with things like posture and spinal flexibility.” For example, while sitting cross-legged, “keep your chest up, keep good posture,” she says. “That’s actually a really good way to work on those things.”
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Decorating a Tree: 200 Calories
This is another opportunity to work on your range of motion, West says, as “a lot of people lose the ability to put their arms over their head as they get older.” However, you won’t feel the burn unless you’re climbing up and down a ladder to decorate, which could potentially burn 200 calories in a half hour.
Walking Through the Mall: 300 Calories
Instead of “casually strolling” from shop to shop, walk at a faster pace. Take the stairs — or walk up the escalator rather than using an elevator. “The more intensely you walk, the more calories you burn,” West said, adding that you could burn 250 to 300 calories in a half hour.
Walking in Your Neighborhood: 300 Calories
Walking around your town to look at holiday light displays is great for your cardiovascular health, but can also torch calories, West says. ”If it’s colder you will burn more calories technically. But you still have to maintain the intensity.”
Ice Skating: Up to 250 Calories
Hanging on the rink wall won’t do much by way of calorie burning, but ice skating “could be much more intense, especially if you are going fast.” You could burn up to 500 calories in a half hour, but West says “that’s maximal effort.”
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