My Christmas could turn into something you might watch on Eastenders or remind you of the Griswalds.

My nephew came out recently and is bringing his Eastern European partner to meet my family on Christmas Day, including my close-to-being-homophobic and hugely anti-immigrant father.  Not only that, but my nephews Dad (they don’t get on) — my sister’s ex-husband — is coming along too, having split from his new partner who’s spending Christmas with their daughter.  We haven’t seen him in 7 years.

It could make for an interesting Christmas, or it could end up with the Errey family rolling around on the floor with black eyes and bloody noses.

I’m sure that a lot of you will be sharing some seasonal anxiety too, so here are my tips for confidently handing a potentially stressful family Christmas.

1. Adjust your expectations.

If you expect everything to be perfect and to go like clockwork, you’re backing the wrong horse.  In fact, they’d have put that horse down some time ago.

If you have unrealistic expectations you’re going to get stressed, angry and upset when they don’t happen.

You’re only setting yourself up for a big disappointment, so change your expectations so you expect the odd hiccup, and choose to laugh about them rather than stress about them – laughter goes a long way.

2. Go with the flow.

Forget about what Nigella or Martha says – the tree doesn’t have to have every bauble hung perfectly, the roast potatoes don’t have to be like Gordon Ramsay’s and you don’t have to be the perfect host.

Relax, step back and recognise what’s important about Christmas for you.

What is it that makes Christmas special and magical? I guarantee it’s nothing to do with how many cheeses are on the cheese board or whether dinner is half an hour late to the table. It’s about togetherness, warmth, laughter and lightness.

Give yourself a break, relax and enjoy the good stuff.

3. Deal with family issues later.

Christmas isn’t the best time to sort out all your problems with family and friends.

Nobody wants to argue and fight at Christmas so do what you need to do to put family issues to one side – even for a few hours — and deal with them another time.

Find a good opportunity to tell key people that you want to put your differences aside – it worked for the English and Germans in World War I for heavens sakes.

Also remember that you don’t have to spend every waking moment with family if you don’t want to. If you find yourself going mad, take a break, go for a walk or visit a friend — don’t get over-exposed.

4. Do things in the right spirit.

What I’ve learned is that the best way of feeling fulfilled and magical at Christmas is to give without attachment to the outcome.

Yes, I know that sounds pretty cheesy (like something Mickey Rooney would say in a Disney Christmas family movie), but I promise you it’s true.

Some people might moan about their gifts and others may take their stresses out on you. There’s nothing you can do about those things but you can choose how to be and how you want to feel.

People would much rather spend time with you when you’re relaxed and generous of heart rather than seeing you wound up and stressed, so make a choice that puts you at your best and most generous of spirit.

Am I worried about my potentially challenging (and even comically disastrous) Christmas?

Nope.

That’s simply because I know my family well enough to know that we can let our hair down and have fun, and that any personal issues people might have are nowhere near as important as the family relationships we value so much.

I can’t wait for Christmas Day.