Nothing like Atkins to point out how many of my holiday traditions revolve around food!

The Thanksgiving pigout, annual turtle and truffle making, spending a day with my best friend mixing up pie and cookie dough to put in the freezer, the cookie exchange w/friends, caroling followed by desserts\cider\hot cocoa, making cookies for Santa w/my niece and nephew on Christmas Eve morning, Christmas Eve appetizers @ our families annual evening open house, Christmas morning sweet breads followed by a huge dinner late in the afternoon, Girl Scout cookies, and on and on it goes. No wonder I'm fat!!! If I only pigged out on the actual day of the major holidays like Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving & Christmas there wouldn't be a problem.

I've been really sad thinking of all the traditions I'll be skipping on Atkins. It's about more than the food, ya know? I think I'd like to start some new traditions, although I don't know just what. I got to thinkin' that if you have children, starting non-food traditions would be a great gift to promote a healthy future for them.

Let's brainstorm and see what non-food related traditions we can come with!

Tenn

A good way to downsize the importance of the Thanksgiving feast would be to take the kids to the Thankdsgiving Day parade. It would be alot of fun for the entire family. Then somehow the dinner would have been partially cooked the night before and downsized.

If a family does not have kids yet or the kids are grown, it would be wonderful to do some volunteer work at a downtown soup line that feeds the needy for the day.

Another nice Christmas tradition could be to actually try and make all the gifts you exchange with family members. Surely that would take up alot of 'eating' time.....

Ive been thinking about this since you posted it Stacy. I think especially in the winter time, there is a need for food around our traditions. Let me explain....

We go tobogganing every year (all kids and adults) when we get home, we are pretty much frozen, so we pull out the hot cocoa and marshmallows. Warms you from the inside! So to change this, switch up how you make your cocoa and leave out the marshmallows.

Dinner parties at the holidays are big in some of the small towns Ive lived in. It is a way to socialize away from work, and enjoy yourself. .....so, still attend the parties, bring your own lc drink, and a main dish(usually potluck) that you can eat. Im not sure you change this, other than in your own home....having a card party instead?

1st snow fall.....we are all outside making snowmen. Again, something that you need to be warmed up after doing. Last year, everyone came in and huddled up next to the stove, then I had 3 kids under 10 helping me set the table for supper. (I was out of cocoa)

Cookie exchanges every year. Where everyone makes their fav cookie, then brings enough to the party to exchange with the others. How about a "diet" recipe exchange, be it lc, ww, or lf. Not goodies, but actual recipes....not the food itself.

We have always been taught when you have company, to have coffee, tea or what ever to drink, and some sort of nibblies. Cookies, cake or potato chips.....Good hostesses always do this. Maybe its time to quit with the nibblies. When I go to my mom's, or my gramma's they are always digging in the fridge for goodies to put on a plate to go with our coffee.

Ever notice when you go over to a "thin" friends place, your given coffee, usually a nonfat creamer, and then a bowl of pretzels for example, and told how many calories are in it, and that its really low fat. I have a friend's husband like that. He's a true health nut. But my point is, he still puts out the nibblies

Starting in our own home, which I know is where you are thinking Stacy I just got sidetracked. Would work well, but I really dont know if I would do it. Id offer better choices, its too ingrained in me.

What a great, thought-provoking post. My kids are up now so I have to run, but it will give me a chance to think about it for a while. TTFN.

Very interesting topic!! Sure makes a person think. For example, Halloween. I didn't have the girls go this year..just bought them candy. WHY didn't I buy them healthy stuff? Why Candy? because it was traditional. Habit. Not sure I can break the stuffing habit on Thanksgiving. Or the cookies/candies at Christmas. Might make exceptions for those days. But make myself be better/good the rest of the year. Or invest in trying LC cookie recipes.