SurivivingThe Holidays With The Relatives

The holidays are  coming that means one thing, spending time with the family.

Now unless you have the family from hell, most holiday get-togethers are not that bad. For the most part, you get to catch up with friends and relatives, eat, drink and be merry.

However, for those situations where you are spending time with in-laws or family members that  you have little in common or simply do not  like,  a holiday get-together might feel longer than Quentin Tarantino's “Grind House”.

No worries, here are few ideas that might help you get through the holidays. Some are serious, others are tongue-in-cheek, but they are all helpful hints to make your holiday stress-free.

1. Control the conversation

Everything should not be about you, but during the holidays, maybe it should be. While you are spending time with the family, do not let Uncle Bob dominate the conversation talking about  the virtues of trout fishing. Be the captain of this ship and focus on things that you like (i.e. movies, TV shows, etc). For example say something like “Did you get a chance to see “the Hangover?” or “Have you seen  that show Glee...?”  Do not hog the whole conversation, be courteous and ask them what  they have seen or read, etc. but do not  give them time to ramble. By controlling the conversation, your holiday experience will go a whole lot faster.

2. Make small talk and move on

One good way to bide your time is make small talk with family members.  Try not to get into long winded talks with them because the next thing you know your mom's new boyfriend is telling you how he recently passed a kidney stone.  Ask them things like work, school, hobbies, etc.  By doing this,  you are showing interest, when you are really not. This is should take no more than 10-15 minutes. If you find a conversation that seems interesting stay, if not, move on to the next person or group. Do this until you circled the room, then you can either repeat or find the Man Cave.

 Read on how to find the Man Cave and more holiday survival tips at http://www.ehow.com/how_5671297_surive-holidays-relatives.html

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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