The YMCA is excited to announce that Santa will be stopping by the Y 6 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 10. You will have the opportunity to visit with Santa and have your picture taken. There will be pizza and cookies to decorate.

The bounce house will be up so the kids can jump around and burn off some energy and will be ready to go home and dream of sugar plums dancing in their head in hopes of Saint Nick coming in a few weeks. The event is free for member families and $20 for non-member families.

Work out during the holidays

The holidays are here and many of us are already making excuses not to work out; too busy, getting frazzled with the holiday season. You think there is no harm in stopping your workout and restart after the New Year?

Don’t stop your workout, with the intention of picking it back up at a later time.  Maintaining the momentum of your regular exercise routine is much easier than trying to re-establish it again at a later date. In addition, de-training does occur quite rapidly and it’s always better to shift to maintenance workouts than to stop altogether and lose some of the benefits that you’ve worked so hard to gain.

Although it’s tempting to throw exercise by the wayside, especially when the holidays place even more demands on already hectic schedules, continue to make it a priority. Exercise can be a valuable tool to fight the difficulties of the coming season.