You know it’s time to start planning for the holidays when holiday decorations are up in the malls before you’ve bought the Halloween candy. As the holiday madness of crowded stores, traffic, party planning, and marathon baking sets in, think about the many gifts you and your family can share together and with your community. Make this season special by thanks living for the holidays.• Help your children make coupon books of chores they’ll provide for someone they love. Wrap them up and share them as gifts.• Volunteer your family to help serve dinner for a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.•For your next home or office holiday party, sponsor a food drive. Invite your guests to bring non-perishables and donate to your local food pantry.• Pick a day for gift wrapping and make it a family social event.• Contact a social services agency to adopt a family in need. Have a family shopping outing to choose clothes, toys and household items. Or have your child pick another child their age from a Christmas angel tree at the shopping mall.• Buy several different varieties of dried beans and arrange in containers in a line on the counter top. With a ribbon, tie a bean soup recipe on the lid.• Teach your children about the environment. Recycle old holiday greeting cards by cutting the fronts from old cards and pasting on construction paper that is folded to card size.• Get to know your neighbors.  Organize a neighborhood caroling party.• Contact your church or a local service organization and ask how you can share your time and talents with someone in need.• Take the kids to see Santa. (Make sure this is age appropriate!)• Plan a family evening on the town. Tour neighborhoods for outdoor decorations and finish up with hot cocoa.• Make reindeer decorations for your Christmas tree. Glue small hobby shop eyes on candy canes and make antlers from pipe cleaners• Write a holiday check your favorite health organization for disease prevention research. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas or Thanksgiving, make this season special by thanks living for the holidays.By Shirley Strembel, MS, RD. Shirley is a Public Health Nutritionist for Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Office of Nutrition.Zero Calorie Holiday IdeasThe following are some ideas that I like to pass on to my clients and give out during classes. These holiday ideas emphasize fun without adding on pounds during the holiday season.• Make popcorn chains for the trees. Younger kids can string cranberries on dental floss or thread using a blunt ended yarn needle (with supervision).• Have your holiday party begin at Toys for Tots where you and your guests wrap and load gifts for an hour or two then move to your place for food. Your guests will feel great about helping and will have burned off the calories you will be serving.• At your party play games like pin the nose on the reindeer, and name that Holiday carol. Games  and holiday songs are fun for people of all ages.• Begin the party with an undecorated tree except for the lights. Have a supply of glue sticks, stapler, foil, construction paper, pipe cleaners and tissue paper. Then have the guests create paper ornaments and hang them on the tree.• Try something totally unexpected, a Christmas in South America Party (it is summer there). Put straw in your shoes by the door. Wear colorful clothes and turn up the heat. Serve tropical fruits, beans and salsa.All are low fat and less caloric than the usual North American fare.By Carol Coughlin, RD.Holiday LightsHoliday meals don’t have to pack such a high-calorie punch! Simple makeover tips can lighten up a traditional holiday meal to make it lower in calories, cholesterol and fat - and keep the good taste.• Baked Turkey - Choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird to lower the sodium content. White meat is lower in fat and cholesterol than dark meat. Leave the skin on while roasting for a moist bird but remove it before serving; 1 ounce of turkey skin contains 11 grams of fat.• Turkey Gravy - Refrigerate juices and skim the fat before making gravy and save around 56 grams of fat per cup. Many grocery stores carry special cups, called gravy skimmers, to remove the excess fat from your broth.• Dressing - Use a little less bread or corn bread and add more onions, celery, vegetables and fruits such as cranberries. Substitute applesauce for margarine.• Candied Yams - Leave out the margarine and marshmallows.  Sweeten with crushed pineapple and fruit juice instead of sugar. Orange juice also adds a nice flavor to your sweet potatoes.• Green Bean Casserole - Cook fresh green beans with new potatoes instead of cream soup. Try topping them with aliced almonds instead of fried onion rings.• Mashed Potatoes - Instead of adding butter and whole milk, try adding broth and a little parmesan cheese; or use evaporated skim milk and a little garlic powder.• Bread - serve smaller pieces. Omit margarine/butter or use low-calorie margarine.• Cranberry Sauce - Grind 1 bag fresh cranberries with 1 orange and 1 apple in the food processor. Use just enough sugar to remove tartness.• Pumpkin Pie - Use evaporated skim milk, egg whites and 1/3 less sugar.• Fruit salad makes a nice finish to any meal. If dressing is desired, use nonfat vanilla yogurt.By Beth Fontenot, MS, RD.