Healthy Holiday Tips and Gifts
The Peoria City/County Health Department is offering some simple ideas to make the holidays healthy, safe, and fun.
Diana Scott, Public Information Officer at Peoria City/County Health Department, states, “Try these holiday tips and great gift-giving ideas to get yourself and others started on healthy holiday habits. They can be entertaining to give and fun to receive. Have a safe and healthy holiday from the Peoria City/County Health Department.”
1. Practice healthy home safety – test your smoke alarms, practice your home fire drill with your family, get older homes tested for lead paint, give a smoke detector as a gift
2. Eat well – add more colorful vegetables to your meals, don’t overeat, don’t skip meals, give a fruit basket as a gift, encourage new moms to breastfeed infants
3. Get moving – take a family walk, give gift certificates for a dance class, buy skates or a bicycle helmet as a gift, tone your muscles by vacuuming grandma’s house once a week
4. BE SMOKE-FREE – ask others not to smoke around you and the kids, add the Tobacco QuitLine 1-866-QUIT-YES number and draw a heart on your holiday cards
5. Prepare dinner safely – thaw turkey and meat in the refrigerator, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold, cover and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours
6. Wash your hands – use soap and scrub while you sing the birthday song twice, keep small hand sanitizers in the car
7. Schedule your health and dental exams – get your kids shots up to date; get your flu vaccine now; if travelling, get your foreign travel shots; Get Yourself Tested for STDs
8. Fasten seat belts while driving – get your child car seat installation checked, give grandpa a child seat for when he drives the child
9. Don’t drink and drive – if you drink, practice moderation, use lots of ice or club soda and then call a cab; give a party hostess a non-alcoholic bubbly
10. Get plenty of sleep – missed sleep releases hormones that prompt eating and weight gain, watch out for hidden caffeine as in hot chocolate and tea
11. Manage stress and beat the blues – stay active but don’t rush, call a friend you haven’t seen in years, visit with an elderly neighbor, volunteer at a charity event
12. Be prepared – Make an emergency plan, assemble a kit for the home and the car, give hand-crank flashlight/radios as gifts
