Two years ago, my family had a Halloween reunion aboard the Carnival Cruise ship. It was one of the most fun experiences we’ve had. Needless to say, we were all looking forward to meeting up again for a 10-day celebration in Atlanta.
It took months of planning, as people flew in from five different locations. My RV friend from California (you might recognize Kevin from my YouTube channel) also joined us. While my mom handled the logistics of who slept where and how to feed us all, I created a social calendar that kept us on our feet.
Literally.
In a time when most people were stuffing their faces and staying warm inside, my family said our Christmas celebrations provided the most exercise they had gotten all year. So, how did we do it? Here are a few tips if you’d like to get your family off the couch for the winter.
1. Create a Challenge
We officially started our celebrations on December 23rd. That night, I laid out the rules to win the challenge:
- Win 1 game on any game night
- Attend 1 outdoor excursion
- Complete at least 50,000 steps
The first person to complete all three would be the winner. This gave people a clear goal to aim for and created some healthy competition. Several of us surpassed the 50,000 steps, and we had to readjust the number several times to keep the competition going. Ultimately, the highest was almost 130,000.
I also made it easy for people to sign up. Every day, I would put the planned excursions on a whiteboard. People could simply write their names in, based on the number of slots. For example, we had 5 slots for the US Ghost Adventures tour, and up to 10 for the Georgia Aquarium.
2. Plan Exciting Excursions
It wouldn’t be realistic for people to reach the step counts while crammed into a house together. So, I chose multiple excursions that would get us out and walking, regardless of their interests. Here are some of the group excursions we enjoyed.
A. Georgia Aquarium
I visited the Georgia Aquarium 20 years ago when it first opened its doors. I can’t believe how much it’s grown since then. We enjoyed seeing all the sea creatures and learning about the aquarium’s conservation efforts. However, the Dolphin show was a big favorite.
Seeing everything the aquarium has to offer required a lot of walking, but you barely notice. There’s just so much to see and appreciate. The beluga whales were a crowd favorite in my family.
Cost: Tickets start at $54.99 per person. This was our most expensive excursion.
B. U.S. Ghost Adventures: The Burning & the Bound—Grievous Ghost Tour of Atlanta
U.S. Ghost Adventures reached out to me while I was still in Spain. Their team asked if I would like a few free tickets to check out their tours. In return, they wanted honest feedback on our experiences, so they could know where there was room for improvement.
This was another of the top activities that people kept revisiting in conversations throughout our stay. Those who missed it regretted it.
We arrived early at the designated location and waited patiently for our tour guide to arrive. She was then able to provide access to restrooms without us even having to ask. We had a kid with us, so this was very helpful.
We spent an hour walking through the city and hearing some of the ghostly tales haunting various locations. I don’t want to give the stories away for those who might want to go, but they ranged from mysterious fires to haunted mirrors and a disturbed doctor storing cadavers in a basement. We were still puzzling over some of the stories we heard days later.
Halloween has been a much bigger deal in my family than Christmas for several years. So, this walking tour was also an excellent way to make up for being away for Halloween last year.
Cost: $26 per adult and $0 for children under 6. You can book a tour here!
C. Various Hiking Trails
Being outdoorsy RVers (former RVer for me!), I knew I couldn’t miss the chance to take us hiking. I planned three hiking excursions, but bad weather cut us down to two. Nevertheless, we enjoyed them! Even family members who had never gone hiking before joined us. Anything to get those steps in!
When choosing hiking trails, be sure to consider the following:
- Difficulty: Kevin and I are experienced hikers and could always handle more technical trails. After all, on our first hiking trip together in 2021, we tackled climbing old, broken ladders in a Southern California canyon. Good times! However, since we had less experienced hikers who might join us, I chose easier trails.
- Weather: Always check the weather and be prepared to be flexible. We had to change our hiking plans two days in a row before finally having weather good enough to head out. Watch out for too-low temperatures or heading to unpaved and hilly trails the day of or after rainfall.
- Views: Ultimately, you also want to choose spaces that are beautiful or unique. Both hiking trails I picked had water features. One was also known for creating creepy artwork using dolls and trash along the trails. If you’ve never heard about it before, I recommend checking out Doll’s Head Trail.
Cost: FREE. This might not be the case at all parks you visit, but I chose parks with no admission or parking fees.
3. Share Gym Memberships
My Dad had a gym membership that allowed him to take guests to the gym. It did mean I had to get up much earlier than usual to go with him, but it was an excellent way to get my steps in.
Shared gym memberships make it easier to take extra people without paying additional cost. I’m not sure how common this option is outside of franchises in the United States, but I know that both LA Fitness and Planet Fitness gyms have memberships that allow you to take extra people. The gym also provided an opportunity to get some me-time outside of a full house.
Both gyms also have additional perks to lure less-than-willing family members. LA Fitness has a hot tub and sauna, while Planet Fitness has a spa with massage chairs. Technically, you need a Black Card membership to access the spa at Planet Fitness, but when I had the PF membership, I had a 100% success rate at getting my mom free use of the hydromassage chair as my guest.
Cost: There was no additional cost, as we already had guest privileges with our memberships. However, it’s $24.99 per month for the Planet Fitness Black Card membership, and prices range from $40 to $99 for LA Fitness memberships that allow guests.
Most people look forward to slowing down, enjoying good food, and spending time with family. While this is an excellent way to spend the holidays, we really enjoyed our competition and excursions. There’s no doubt we’ll try another challenge like this the next time the whole family has another reunion.
Would you try something like this for your family celebrations or winter holiday break?