Step 1: Breathe.

It's a stressful time. Maybe your family from California is coming to your house, or your aunt from minnesota is coming with her six children in tow. Or, maybe you're the one being forced to share space with your obnoxious cousins. Either way, you can't continue without clearing your head, so take a deep breath before moving to step two.

Step 2: Acceptance.

Everyone thinks their family is crazy. And, everyone is probably right. Accepting your fate is the most important part, because if you spend your entire christmas vacation trying to convince yourself that they're "not that bad", it means you like in denial and it's not just a river in Egypt.

Step 3: Make a plan.

A game plan is necessary. Try to keep the amount of time you're around your drunk uncle to a maximum of ten minutes, and be careful not to speak about the latest presidential election results with your die-hard political loving aunt. Your grandma might be your safest bet, because she's probably just as overwhelmed as you are by your family, but she won't get yelled at for calling them out on things.

Step 4: Initiate.

So you have your list of acceptable topics to speak about to each person. STICK TO THEM. Do NOT leave this list. The last thing any of us need is a repeat of Christmas Dinner, 2014. (Am I right?)

Step 5: Get very drunk.

Either you'll snap and call them out on their childish or rude behavior, or you won't even notice because you'll be three glasses deep into the moscato and everything starts getting funny around your second glass.