1. Avoid carrot sticks.
Yup... I managed this - no carrot of any kind anywhere near the dining table

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly.
No egg nogs at our place - I am the only one who likes them and they are too rich for me now

3. If something comes with gravy, use it.
Yup... my son made a large quantity of gravy - enough so we had leftovers today with the leftover roast lamb

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk.
Well... our mashed taters were made with butter only - no milk. Also i make roast potatos - I coat them in olive oil and salt... yummmm... (and both are great with or without gravy...

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
our eating.
Snacking began at 3pm with chokies and then chees, and then more chockies (still no carrot sticks...)

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's.
'Fraid I can't do that - I have to bike - but I promise not to do any "other" exercise

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself
near them and don't budge.
Um... guilty... it was chocolate marzipan thingies... and if you wait long enough, the people near you move, so the next ones that move in beside you think you are only having your second - not your twenty-second

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each.
Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?
Um... no pies here... but dessert was sponge, pavlova, raspberries, blackberries, stollen, ice-cream and cream... yes, I had a bit of everything!

9. Did someone mention fruitcake?
I don't like fruit-cake - so I had some "Rainbow Cake" instead... no fruit, but the colours looked like fruit...

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party
or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.
Oh yes... I was well into "poisoned/food overload" territory... groaning whimpering and waiting for my body to deal with the food... I still felt ill this morning... so what did I do? Ate some more chocolate, had some chocolate biscuits and made myself a sandwich of cold roast lamb and cold gravy...