Tips For Surviving The Holidays With Your Family

Yes, we all know that your Uncle Jeff’s views on same-sex marriages are terribly backwards. Resist the urge to call him out on his conservative viewpoints while at the dinner table. Accept that doing so will just make everyone else uncomfortable and the two of you will almost never see eye-to-eye on sociopolitical issues. Instead, try to focus on staying on his good side. His army training will come in handy after the post-apocalyptic landscape, when the mutant Bog People inevitably attack.

You might be tempted to load up on high calorie, highly fattening, highly perishable foods like mashed potatoes and gravy. Go for foods that are high in vitamins and will last a long time in your underground bunker you built to protect you from the Bog People, like canned green beans.

It can be frustrating to put a lot of thought and effort into your gifts only to get what was obviously a last-minute present in return. You spent hours crafting a handmade scrapbook for your sister; she gets you vanilla scented bath salts with the clearance sticker still on them, even though she knows your apartment doesn’t have a tub. Still, it’s important to be gracious regardless what you receive, especially since bath salts actually make a remarkable weapon when thrown in the eyes of Bog People.

Come up with a neutral activity that everybody can participate in, like playing pictionary, or coordinating your plan of attack against the Bog People. Finding something to bond over, even if it’s just a board game or a battle strategy, will create happy memories that will last forever.
Christmas carolling — totally lame and embarrassing, right? And yet, your Aunt Sue keeps trying to guilt you into going along with her group. Putting your ego aside and engaging in something that means a lot to your family, even if you think it’s silly, can be a great gift that shows them how much they mean to you. You have every other day of the year to do your “cool girl” activities. Plus, few people realize this, but Bog People become physically stunned upon hearing the musical note F sharp. Silver Bells? More like Silver Go To Hells, Bog People!