Some Holiday Tasks Can Burn Up to 300 Calories in 30 Minutes — Here's How to Maximize Your To-Do List

• Some leisure activities can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes, Dr. Amy West, sports medicine physician at Northwell Health
• Vacuuming pine needles and walking around the neighborhood to look at holiday lights are some of the biggest calorie burners
• Wrapping presents and decorating the tree can help work on posture and range of motion

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to burn off a few extra calories as you grace the halls and tinkle the bells.

Although wrapping presents and hanging stockings are no substitute for the treadmill, as Dr. Amy West, a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health, tells PEOPLE, you can still burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes of holiday partying.

West says these calorie-burning activities can burn off an extra cookie or two, but don’t take it too seriously. Above all, it promotes balance. “It’s the holiday season, so enjoy the food you’ll enjoy—because that’s just part of the spirit.”

Hanging lights: 200 calories

You can burn up to 200 calories in 30 minutes of hanging lamps, West tells PEOPLE, especially if you “go up and down the ladder.” She explains that climbing, like nailing, can be considered more intense activities.

A picture of a busy mall during the holidays.

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Vacuuming under a tree: 300 calories

Cleaning under a shedding tree can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes. “Vacuuming can be a pretty intense activity,” says West, explaining that pushing and pulling is also good for range of motion. She also suggests standing up in front of guests, like going up and down stairs with a vacuum cleaner, or bending over to pick things up, to intensify the burn — “especially the longer you do it.”

Gift wrapping: 100 calories

While this doesn’t exactly burn calories — you’ll probably burn less than 100 in 30 minutes of gift wrapping — West tells PEOPLE, “If you’re sitting on the floor wrapping a gift, it can actually benefit your mobility and help with things like posture and spinal flexibility.” For example, while sitting cross-legged, “keep your chest up, keep good posture,” she says. “That’s actually a really good way to work on those things.”

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Decorating the tree: 200 calories

This is another opportunity to work on range of motion, says West, since “many people lose the ability to put their arms overhead as they age.” However, you won’t feel the burn unless you’re climbing up and down the ladder to decorate it, which could potentially burn 200 calories in half an hour.

Walking in the mall: 300 calories

Instead of “leisurely strolling” from store to store, walk at a faster pace. Take the stairs — or take the escalator instead of taking the elevator. “The harder you walk, the more calories you burn,” West said, adding that you can burn 250 to 300 calories in half an hour.

Stock image of a neighborhood decorated for the holidays.

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Walking in your neighborhood: 300 calories

Walking around town looking at the holiday lights is great for your cardiovascular health, but it can also burn calories, says West. “If it’s colder, you’ll burn more calories technical. But you still have to keep the intensity.”

Ice skating: up to 250 calories

Hanging from the rink wall won’t do much to burn calories, but ice skating “could be a lot more intense, especially if you’re going fast.” You could burn up to 500 calories in half an hour, but West says “that’s maximal effort.”

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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education