During the baby-boomer era, this was actually a fairly common practice, as fresh fruits were harder to come by during the winter months and considered quite a luxury item, especially within large families. Nowadays, fruits aren't held in quite as high regard; as far as stocking-stuffers go, most children expect candies and chocolates, not the healthy stuff.
I started to wonder, just how sugar-stuffed are those stockings we give our families? Then I sat down and did the math, with some shocking results. A holiday stocking* holds over 2500 calories and more than 300 grams of sugar!! That's over a day's worth of calories with next to no nutritional value, and more sugar than an adult should consume in 2 weeks! For a child, that's about a month's worth of added sugar, potentially being consumed all in one day!
The big question, of course, is- how can we move those stockings from the naughty list to the nice list? Read on for some super stocking stuffer suggestions!
- A modern take on oranges in the stocking- buy a bag of delicious satsumas or juicy clementines and start stuffing those stockings with Vitamin C to fend off holiday colds!
- Chapsticks and hand lotions for dry winter skin.
- Key chains, costume jewelry, or temporary tattoos for the kids.
- Ear buds & magic gloves (the kind you can wear and still use touch screen electronics with are amazing) to make cold weather running a snap.
- Nail polish, files, and cute clippers for the ladies.
- iTunes gift cards (maybe for music to listen to at the gym?)
- BPA free reusable water bottles because we all need our H20!
- Healthier snacks- see previous post and if you're not giving mixes as gifts, use them as stocking stuffers.
And last but not least...
- All things in moderation, so find out which holiday candies are the favorites in your family and include just a few pieces per stocking!
Following these tips, your stockings are sure to make the nice list this year!
Yours in Fitness,
Sarah
* My stocking included just a SINGLE serving (many stockings hold much more) of each of the following popular holiday treats:
Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses, Butterfinger Jingle Bells, Snickers Nutcracker, Twix Santa, Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares, Palmer Chocolate Coins, Great Value Candy Canes, Peeps Snowmen, Reese's Tree, Skittles Bite Size Holiday Mix, Bite Size Mint M&Ms, and Hershey's Assorted Miniatures. Again, the majority of stockings can hold much more. To find the exact calorie count of your stocking, go to myfitnesspal.com *
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