Don Your Way Column: Christmas: Peace and goodwill or tantrums and turkey?

Yup, the days are slowly being ticked off on the way to Christmas Day and the next few days are likely to be a frenzy of last minute present shopping, card writing and wrapping.

There's the sprouts to get, there's that awkward Christmas decoration that keeps falling down to put back up for the 15th time and you're worrying about whether you can get away with giving Auntie Eileen the dregs out of the bottom of a bottle of sherry that was first opened in about 1985.

You've bought your dates and your Ritz crackers (because its Christmas and you have to) and you've been through your copy of the Radio Times with your highlighter pen and realised with disappointment that its basically the same as usual '“ a load of old James Bond films, Morecambe and Wise repeats and The World's Strongest Man.

You're probably heartily sick of hearing Wizzard, Paul McCartney and Shakin' Stevens and had your fill of red and white lorries trundling through the woods, animated carrots and Elton John's life story in advert form.

Chances are you've dusted down the same Christmas jumper you have worn for the last six years for its annual festive outing and stood tutting and sighing at the overly long queues in Marks and Spencer when all you want is to get your lunchtime sandwich (yes, some of us are still working!).

You've probably over indulged at the office Christmas party, wondering how you went out with £100 in your pocket and woke up the following morning with £1.26 in your pocket, a bit of tinsel half-inched from a pub and the number of someone you don't even know in your phone.

There'll be crawling around behind the telly to plum in a games console that steadfastly refuses to load up on Christmas Day morning, falling asleep in front of The Queen and wondering if After Eight mints and Quality Street count as one of your five a day.

And you'll probably spend far too much time trying to shift the lid from a jar of pickled onions, wondering if the nation's stores actually have any supplies of Lynx gift sets and comedy socks left and still be scratching your head come New Year's Eve who that card is from. "Bob and Sandra? Do we know a Bob and Sandra?"

But all the traditions and craziness aside (and every family has both in equal measure), it's a time to come together and enjoy all that the festive season has to hurl at us.

There will be tears, there will be tantrums, there will be turkey, tinsel and telly and too much booze.

Condensing so much '˜stress' and spending and organisation into such a short space of time is bound to create tensions and the inevitable fallouts.

Peace and goodwill to all men? You've obviously never had a game of Monopoly at Christmas.

But whatever you're doing to celebrate Christmas (and even if you aren't) try and make it a peaceful and happy one and keep on the right side of each other.

To all Doncaster Free Press readers wherever you are, Happy Christmas '“ have a good one, I'll see you on the other side.