10 Ways to Stay a Healthy Active Family in the Winter

Winter is here and that means winter activities are in full effect. However, with the colder weather it’s often tempting to stay indoors where it’s warm. Even in these colder months, it’s important to set aside time to Stay a Healthy Active Family.

Our family likes to remain active over the winter and to do that we take steps to stay healthy. The #1 way we protect our family from illness is by getting the flu shot and using these 9 other flu prevention techniques.

It’s not too late to head to your nearest Shoppers Drug Mart to grab your flu shot so you can spend your winter a healthy active family.

How to Stay a Healthy Active Family in the Winter

1. Get the flu shot. The best way to stay a healthy active family through the winter holidays is to prevent yourself from getting sick with the flu. Shopper Drug Mart makes it easy for active families so you can quickly drop in to get immunized and be on your way.
2. Cook together. Cooking and eating healthy meals together will set the stage for your kids to help ward off illness, grow into a learned healthy lifestyle and make holiday traditions to pass down generations.
3. Get outdoors. Make a point to take your family outdoors. Take a walk, build a snowman or build a fort for a fun time with your loved ones that doesn’t cost a thing. Fresh air and sunshine is a great way to stay healthy over the winter months.
4. Take it to the hill. Go tobogganing or go to a nearby ski resort for a day of fun in the snow. Before you realize, you’ll have worked up a sweat and made lasting memories with your family.
5. Go skating. Many places have free public skating times which makes it a great time for families to take advantage of the indoor time, get out of the cold and get some exercise. Often, you can find outdoors rinks to enjoy a skate with family and friends on warmer days with the sun shining.
6. Go swimming. On days where the cold is just too cold for spending time outside, head to your local aquatics centre for a family swim night. Swimming is such a fun activity for the whole family that it’s hard to tell it’s actually a great exercise.
7. Jump; JUMP. Take your family to an indoor trampoline park or playground where you can play together. This is one of our favourite fun activities to do as a family; I especially love that I feel like a big kid again.
8. Play games. Bundle up and head out for an old fashion game of snow tag, tug-of-war, snow baseball, snow angels or anything else your imagination can create an active game of snow play with your family. Don’t be surprised if you end up giggling in the snow; laughing is good for your health.
9. Create snow art. Using food dye with water and a spray bottle, make a hopscotch game and take turns hopping through the snowy track. Snow offers resistance but little ones will be so focused on the fun of the game, they won’t realize they are actually getting a good exercise in the process.
10. Take a fitness class. Check your local fitness centres for a mini boot camp or family get-together classes available, like a yoga or spin class. Recently I took my daughters to a Kangoo class; not only was the exercise fun, we had a great time challenging ourselves and laughing along the way.

If you follow these tips you’ll be sure to reap the benefits from a healthy and active lifestyle and that will hopefully keep you flu free!

For more information on flu shot facts and prevention, check out 5 Flu Myths and Facts: Why You Should Get the Flu Shot, 9 Ways to Prevent the Flu, Shoppers Drug Mart website FAQ’s or join in the #ShoppersFlu conversation with me on Twitter @thislilpiglet and @ShopprsDrugMart.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post through Shoppers Drug Mart. All opinions and experiences are 100% my own.

Giveaway includes the following items in the gift pack, a $160 CAD value:

• Life Brand Hand Sanitizer
• Life Brand Cough Drops
• Life Brand Vaporizing Cold Rub
• Life Brand Electrolyte Maintenance Powder
• Life Brand Vaporizer
• Life Brand Digital Thermometer
• No Name Disinfectant Wipes
• PC Chicken Noodle Soup
• PC Facial Tissues
• PC Feeling Soothed Tea
• $100 gift card

It’s easy to enter, just tell me in the comments below how you stay healthy and active through the winter.

The more you tweet tagging @ShopprsDrugMart AND @thislilpiglet with #ShoppersFlu, the more chances you have to win. You can tweet up to 3 times per day in the form and more if you simply click to tweet this tweet below then fill out the form below.