The holiday season will soon be upon us and that can mean only one thing: being forced to spend time with the in-laws. The well-mannered gentleman knows that being in the company of the in-laws can bring on feelings of stress and unhappiness as well as severe stomach cramps brought on by your mother- in-law's always undercooked pork-butt casserole. None the less - the true gentleman also knows that it is essential to get along with his wife’s parents in order to insure harmony in the family. To help the genteel reader who is plagued by such extended-family problems, Mr. Manners would like to make the following suggestions:
Compliment your mother-in-law’s cooking. Sure you’re on a low-cholesterol diet. Sure she fries everything in pig lard including the carrots, corn, and cranberry sauce. That doesn’t mean you can’t choke down a couple of her re-fried cottage-cheese balls, smile, and say "Boy these sure are tasty mom!"
Agree with your father-in-law’s political views. So Dad is a little far right and is voting for Pat Buchanon this year. That doesn’t mean you can’t smile and non-commitally nod when he asks whether you think it was a sad day for America when "the Russians gave up on Communism before we had the chance to nuke em". When he starts talking about minorities your best bet is to excuse yourself and become engrossed in the vegetable dip.
Be buddies with your brother in-law. Yes your brother-in-law may think it’s okay to shed his clothes after Thanksgiving dinner and watch football covered only in a non-too-plentiful sprinkling of potato chip crumbs. That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends. Just try scratching yourself and mentioning the late-great Sammy so-and-so and you can be instant friends for life.
Thanks you and good manners to all.