This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Well, here we all are. Heading down the Holiday Homestretch.

If you're like me, you've already consumed your weight in fudge and cheese balls, sent the wrong package to your friend in New York, broken an ornament or two, wondered if it's OK to send cards out AFTER Christmas, accidentally left the ham out on the counter all night … and still managed to have a pretty great time in spite of your holiday missteps.

And now there's just one holiday left — New Year's Day — or possibly, two, if you count New Year's Eve separately.

So. Here's the question of the day. Are you up for more get-togethers with your loved ones?

Or do you find yourself dreading them (the get-togethers, not the loved ones) because inevitably someone will bring up something that will start a fight? Like, politics for example.

Maybe someone in your family will say, "I kind of like that Bernie Sanders." And then someone else will say, "Seriously? That guy is a nutjob." And then someone else will say, "Did you see Larry David's impersonation of Bernie Sanders on SNL?" And then someone else will say, "I love Larry David in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' " and then someone else will say, "Ugh. 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is lame." And then someone else will say, "No. You're lame." And then the other person will say, "No. YOU'RE lame."

And then before you know it, somebody (the mom, usually) is clearing the furniture because that holiday dinner you were all just having? Well, it's suddenly turned into Family Fight Club.

Not that it always happens like this, but it can sometimes — especially after you've been together a lot already and you're all this side of grumpy because everybody has been eating their own weight in fudge and cheese balls for the past month like it's their job.

So, what can you do to keep a lid on things? In the spirit of the season, I'm passing along a tip totally free of charge. This idea comes from a good friend of mine who grew up in a large family filled with big non-timid outspoken personalities.

Are you ready for it?

You invite a guest to join you for dinner — someone who isn't related to you.

Or maybe you could even invite two people not related to you.

Or maybe you could do what my parents often did when I was a kid and invite a whole truckload of them over for Thanksgiving. I remember looking at strangers eating turkey in our house and thinking WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

My mother always said they were people who didn't have a place to go for the holiday, which made me think she was super generous at the time. But now I'm wondering if she invited people over just to make the rest of us behave.

Hey, Mom! After all these years, I'm finally on to you!

But whatever. The point is, this strategy works. When there's a guest at the table, family members automatically dial down the rhetoric. And even if someone says something that would ordinarily cause an argument, everyone laughs merrily — hahahahahahaha — even if it's just polite merry fake-laughing.

See how it works? And now your holiday problem is solved.

You're welcome!

Have a great time — and also a happy New Year.