Christmas is a funny old time. On the one hand it’s billed as being a family occasion, while on the other it contains all the ingredients necessary to tear a family apart: wives running themselves ragged trying to create the perfect Noel, husbands sitting back with a bottle of Claret after a hard year at the office, miserable weather, difficult relatives and the temptation to over-indulge on every front. None of it does anything to promote a sense of well-being and true family togetherness.

However long and hard we plan for Christmas, there is a tendency to forget one crucial element – enjoyment! Strange, that, seeing as we work for it all year long. Yet we get so caught up in the minutia of organisation, we’re too stressed or worn out to actually have a good time when the big day arrives.

So my message to you this Christmas is very simple: arrange your festivities in such a way that you will genuinely get some pleasure out of them.

Cut corners, leave out some of the trimmings if you have to – but please keep in mind that Christmas should be a time to relax and bask in the company of your family.

If you are single this Yuletide, the same thing applies. You might yearn to be part of a family unit, but there are many positive aspects to being alone. You won’t be a slave to the constant demands of others and you can do pretty much anything you want. Rather than drifting through the holiday, set yourself targets: plan a daily walk (whatever the weather), focus on a different positive thought each day, research or embark upon a new hobby or read a book that teaches you something. In short, view Christmas and New Year as an opportunity to move, proactively, into the future.

Similarly with those of you with families: you’ll enjoy yourself much more if you plan your days, arrange outings and play brain games, then if you simply slump in front of the television eating leftover peanuts.

Planning activities doesn’t just ward off boredom and attendant bickering, it serves to refresh and re-energise family relationships. If a marriage is struggling already, a bad Christmas can hammer home the final nail in the coffin; a good Christmas can consolidate emotional ties and breathe new life into the marital relationship. Careful planning can influence what kind of Yuletide you have.

So while you dream of what Santa may bring you on Christmas Day, can I just remind you that my ideal gift would be a dearth of phone calls in the New Year. Yes, it would be bad for business, but it would be great for family life – and that is very important to me.