'A brief rummage is acceptable'  – how to share Christmas chocolates

As a great man from Walsall once yelled, it’s Chriiiistmas! But how should you tuck in without causing a decades-long family rift?Remove any cellophane or seals prior to guests arriving. It suggests generosity. Any painfully slow, fiddly unwrapping of a box, as if guests are being grudgingly indulged (“We never really eat chocolate, you see”), will put the recipients on edge. A good host’s demeanour says: “Dig in!” A wrapped box sourly infers: “Eat spari