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It is a sad truth that retailers begin pushing their Christmas wares in Canada the day after Halloween. The corollary is that people are having their parties earlier each year. I overheard someone last week talking about their office Christmas party being held that day! My husband and I are attending our first Christmas party tomorrow. So I guess it isn't too soon to talk about surviving the whole party scene.
We gave you some advice earlier in the November about surviving Thanksgiving; of course, that is only one day of the year and apparently Christmas now lasts for over a month. For many people office parties, office lunches, Hanukkah parties, family Christmas parties, friends' Christmas parties, as well as Christmas day and New Year's Eve are just an endless string of eating too many bad canapes and imbibing too much eggnog.It's not too early to suggest that your office make a donation to a charitable organization instead of having the costly party or restaurant luncheon. Or ask the boss to have the event catered by someone willing to use local, organic food and fair trade coffee and chocolate. Or on the home front, suggest the family serve up a vegetarian Christmas dinner, or use a locally grown ham or turkey.
But you need another strategy entirely to get through all these entertainments. Look over your holiday calender and give some thought to just how many parties you are going to and then pace yourself. Overindulging at three or four parties can result in thousands of extra calories, so make a plan and stick to it.
1. If your invitation is for 7 p.m. and dinner is to be served then have a light snack at about 4 p.m.. That way you can avoid any appetizers, or at least eat fewer because you won't be so hungry.
2. If dinner is a buffet then choose more of the vegetable items and either eliminate or reduce the amount of the rich food you take.
3. Sample dessert rather than taking big portions.
4. Eat what you feel you need and no more.
5. If your invitation is for 8 p.m. and dinner will not be served, then be sure to eat dinner at home. Otherwise the temptation of bowls of chips and nuts and candies will be too much.
6. If people are serving crudites and dip, choose those over the high fat, high salt snacks.
7. In any case avoid drinking too much. Aside from being hungover and embarrassed the next day (especially after the office party), having too much alcohol will encourage you to eat more.
8. Intersperse those alcoholic drinks with water or spritzers. Less embarrassment, fewer calories.
9. Make time for exercise, especially if you do feel you have overdone it a bit.
10. If you have everything in moderation you'll feel better and have a great time.
Just remember to enjoy your family and friends this holiday season!
Difficulty level: Easy
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