How to be the perfect guest if you're staying in someone's house at Christmas

Staying in someone else’s house can be an etiquette minefield. There is so much scope to disrupt their lives. Bring a gift, be undemanding, and eat what you’re served, says Kya de Longchamps.

NEVER was a phrase so deeply compromised as ‘make yourself at home’. Being a guest in someone’s home can be fraught, especially with the demise of formal etiquette. It’s little wonder Anton Chekov wrote that people are far more sincere and good-humoured at speeding their parting guests than on meeting them.