My husband is one of those rare breeds of humans who actually likes people

Fred and I may have different ideas of what constitutes a nice Christmas, but we are determined to make it a good one

Picture: iStock 

There are essentially two types of people in the world — people who visit their neighbours on Christmas Day and normal people, like me, who embrace the chance to lock themselves inside their house for as long as is acceptable.

When we decided to have Christmas, just at home, the four of us, the first thing my husband Fred announced was that we would have to have people over on Christmas Day. Knowing that he had consumed a chocolate from the advent calendar that morning, I dismissed his raving as that of a sugar-fuelled lunatic. It was only when I caught him purchasing not one but two frozen party food selections I pulled him aside and asked if there was a secret work promotion he was looking to announce over the holidays that warranted this splurge. Smiling from ear to ear, he informed me these were just nibbles for “callers”, and my heart sank.