Séamas O'Reilly: Christmas is a time for simmering tensions and seething acrimony

Below you will find a seasonal selection box of stratagems, going over every conceivable dinner-table dust-up and fireside fisticuff that could kick off this Christmas, telling you exactly how to steer past it and on to a better, more fulfilling alternative.

Sad, desperate little girl during parents quarrel. Clog the ears.. Family quarrel on the eve of Christmas

If you find yourself back home this Christmas or are, like me, staying with your in-laws, you might be familiar with the strains of this period. 

Christmas is a time for love and friendship, but it is also a time for simmering tensions and seething acrimony.