With Christmas paraphernalia in shops months before December even starts, it is not long before we’re shuffling times around to book in time to see all the relatives over the festive season. Planning food and shopping for presents begins weeks before … and heaven help us if we have to host hordes of people. Robin Snow calls it the stress-tive season and has written a pocket-sized book to manage or even avoid the stress and put the fun back into Christmas celebrations.

Moving Christmas to January is probably her best suggestion as you can take advantage of all those January discounts and people are more likely to have an empty social calendar. Then you can go to the shopping centre and spend the run-up to Christmas by watching all the other people madly racing around.

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I moved Christmas to Boxing Day once as the paint on the refurbished bike for my daughter wasn’t dry. The result was that I got myself into all sorts of trouble when we visited some neighbours and had to make up a story about some people opening their presents on Christmas Eve.

If you can’t move Christmas this book has games, puzzles, quizzes and amusing lists to liven things up. The Queen’s Speech game looks like great fun for the whole troop. I like this one – list five of the best things you love about Christmas and don’t do anything that doesn’t make the cut. So, for me, it is my friend’s Xmas Eve feast leftovers and rum balls on the beach with a beautifully folded petal serviette and a good book.

Lezly Herbert