With Christmas Day comes Christmas guilt over...

With Christmas Day comes Christmas guilt over gorging yourself on all that turkey, dressing, gravy, pies, figgy pudding, chocolate and Great-Aunt Ida’s famous fruitcake.

There’s only one solution: exercise in the great outdoors with plenty of what passes for fresh air here in the Southland, like a nice family hike at Eaton Canyon Nature Center on Saturday morning.

The docent-led walk takes about an hour, and ambles through the chaparral and coastal woodland at the foot of Mt. Wilson.

“It’s geared for the whole family,” recreation service leader Donny Yore said. So Great-Aunt Ida can probably manage it. So can the little ones.

After the walk, there is a museum that features displays of plants and animals native to Southern

California. Actually, Yore said, the live rabbit is really the type you’d find at a pet store, although it looks just like a native Audubon cottontail found in the parkland.

There are 24 animal displays, mostly of reptiles because they’re the easiest to keep, Yore said. Outside there are even more animals, but you’re only likely to see ground squirrels and birds because most others, such as rabbits and an occasional coyote, are nocturnal and shy.

The family walk starts at 9 a.m. at the county-run nature preserve, 1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena. Admission is free, although on weekends there is a $3 parking fee.

And next year, try laying off the pies, figgy pudding and chocolate. Eat the fruitcake. We don’t want to hurt Great-Aunt Ida’s feelings, do we?