Once You Decide to Get Moving, It's All Downhill From There

For those of you who haven't broken your coccyx on the ice rink by now thanks to Vicky, we have a special suggestion in mind this week. As our 12 Days of Doing Something continues, try putting some new parts of your body at risk.

Plan a ski/snowboard/tubing day: What's Christmas, after all, without snow?

But given the unlikelihood of the natural stuff falling adequately in our part of the world (the average for the District is about 15 inches a year), what can you do to compensate?

There are a number of ski hills close enough to Washington for a day trip that will provide at least a taste of a white Christmas. Massanutten, down in Harrisonburg, Va., and the Whitetail, Liberty and Roundtop resorts beyond Frederick all have had an adequate dose of freezing weather to open for the season with a base of man-made snow.

Those of you who've skied before don't need a sales pitch about the exercise you'll get -- if only from trudging around in the boots and schlepping the equipment -- or the fun involved.

If you've never tried, put your images of frozen toes and knee sprains to rest. Skiing does carry risks. But the hills used for beginner instructions are gentle, to say the least, and rolling around after a fall is half the fun (at least at first). And if you have kids, they'll pick it up in a heartbeat.

Still not game? The resorts typically offer snow tubing as well, where you just jump on a hunk of inflated rubber and slide down. You won't get the same workout, but at least you'll be outside moving around.

Before the grousing gets too loud, I know it's expensive. So spend less at Wal-Mart and make it a surprise for your family/spouse/mate. There are ways to cut the price. Through Dec. 23, for example, Whitetail has a $39 learn-to-ski package that includes equipment rentals and a lift ticket for the day.