On the second day of Christmas, every family in Ireland replaces the elf on the shelf with the slouch on the couch

Ireland calls today St Stephen’s Day for many reasons, mostly religious, writes Terry Prone. It beats Britain’s ‘Boxing Day’ with its reference to the chaos in which most of us stand today: Leftover boxes, bags, ribbons, and worrying spare electronic bits.

Whether you call it Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day or Monday, Suzanne Harrington reckons it’ll be a day of headaches.