1. leave cookies out for Santa.Santa called. He wants his good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies back (with gluten).

2. give yourself a breakT-minus 4 days to go. The crazy is almost behind you. Take a mini meditation break to recharge or hit up your favourite yoga class. You deserve a little me-time and you’ll feel oh-so-good.

3. wrap your presents.WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Get creative and crafty with your wrapping this season. Check out this list of 50 stylish ways to wrap presents for a bit of inspiration.

4. running to the kitchen countsLife is all about balance and the holiday season is no exception. A 4 letter acroynm recently made popular by Drake comes to mind... but we'll refrain from using it.

5. have fun and be merryMy family tradition is to play a post-dinner game around the table. I love that it keeps us all together, in one room, enjoying each other’s company – and laughing like crazy. Games like Catchphrase, Taboo or Things are good for all ages (I’ve personally tested these on my 84-year old Italian grandfather). Trust me, the spirits will be up!

When I received the call three weeks ago that I had been nominated to run with the torch, I was… well, not that excited. I know that sounds bad and I by no means was taking the honour lightly, but in the spirit of full disclosure this was what was going through my head: well, your goal was to win the Olympics in Vancouver, but I guess carrying the torch is kind of cool.

You see, as a two-time Olympian who was forced into retirement through injury, my past Olympic experiences had consisted of operating within an insular bubble of train-rest- compete-leave. I was not exposed to what the world around me understood. I admittedly pretended to understand what this “Olympic movement” was all about.

As an athlete who competed continually throughout the two weeks, I only left the security of the Village to train or compete. All of my down time was spent preparing for the next competition. In preparation for the Olympics in 2002, I decided not to attend the opening ceremonies. As unfathomable as this is to many, I felt like it would negatively affect my competition. Looking back now, I regret that decision. I had not absorbed the spirit of the Games, I just wanted to win.

Well, it took two Olympics, and a 300m run with a torch, but I’ve finally got the spirit! When I boarded that bus with my 15 fellow torch bearers, who together would cover a whopping distance of 4.5 km, something happened, something changed. I don’t know if it was our guide who could barely speak of the Olympics without crying, or the woman who was running in honour of her daughter Hope who had recently passed away, but I started to tingle as that bus took off. 

Allison's biggest/littlest fan

We cruised down the streets lined with people waving flags and kids chanting and the tingles turned to tears. By the time I actually took off with the official flame for my 300m segment, I knew what I think others knew all along. The Olympic Games represent so much more than sport. They truly are a peace movement, where a country first comes together to carry a torch a total of 45,000km, and then welcomes the rest of the world in the celebration of challenging the human spirit. I apologize if I am telling you all something you already knew, but I just wanted to share that it took the torch to teach me this, and I will always be grateful. Go World!

I'm incredibly competitive so when our educator Rachelle came up with a staff fitness challenge for May - Tri/Yoga Bingo - I was so pumped that I started training for it that day (technically, I am also training for my first sprint triathlon of the season, but I digress).

The challenge consists of 25 bingo squares with workouts that correspond to triathlon training (swim/bike/run), our in-store fitness events and yoga. Whoever blacks out the card first wins a pair of shorts.

The intentions of this challenge are:
- support local triathletes /triathlons
- do one thing a day that scares us
- brand wearing the newest lululemon swim and run gear

The Carlsbad store is a competitive bunch. We're all pushing 2 - 3 workouts a day to stay ahead of one another. This is risky business and requires quite a bit of planning when you work two jobs, don't live in the city you work in AND need to have a few days off to compete in a triathlon.

Our store manager, Laura - who is in the lead ahead of Rachelle and me, by the way - is working through an Achilles strain. Sherry is busting through with a wrist injury. It's mayhem - and camaraderie. Three of the squares are "with a lulu," meaning we have to go together.

One of the components of the challenge that drums up the most visual intrigue is the layout of the Bingo cards themselves. We put up two pages on our Community Board to show the cards, and educate guests on what is going on in our fitness world.

I’m having a blast testing out the Fastlane Suit for lap swimming and my new bike. Plus, I can eat more froyo and feel good about it!

Fitness/health challenges are awesome no matter where you work, live or play. My friend Jamie is planning to issue a Bike To Work Day challenge to her company. Catherine, the La Jolla store manager, found lululemon through the San Diego showroom's 40 day yoga challenge last year.

And I am going to win a new pair of Run: Punya Shorts by winning our challenge!

How are you going to inspire the fitness bug in your co-workers?