If, like the brilliant but curmudgeonly Raymond Briggs, you would just as soon skip over the coming week as have to deal with any holiday-associated stress, you might want to try dissociating for a few days, slipping into the shoes of, say, the star of your favorite novel! Begin by asking yourself the same question The Washington Post recently posed to several well-known authors: "IF YOU COULD SPEND A HOLIDAY WEEK AS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?"

Just think how entertained your in-laws will be if you start speaking to them in the voice of Huck Finn, Hermione Granger, Despereaux Tilling, or Father Christmas ("blooming Christmas, blooming snow, blooming chimneys, blooming soot")!