Best Topics of Conversation for Christmas Dinner

By Chris Orchard

Here's the scene: You're sitting down to Christmas dinner with your extended family—including your in-laws from Texas and your uncle's new girlfriend who's a gluten-free pescatarian.

What topics of conversation should you avoid and what topics will lead to a fun and safe dinner environment in which no one throws down a napkin in disgust and storms off to smoke an e-cigarette on the front steps?

Here are some good topics of conversation:

• Obamacare
• The "War on Christmas"
• Global Warming
• The best ways to discipline children
• The merits of pescatarianism and the evils of wheat
• Let's not have a substantive conversation; let's just watch the football game instead.
• You watch football? Don't you know the players get chronic traumatic encephalopathy and die early? You meat-eating monster.

Here are some better topics of conversation:

• What Has Been Your Favorite Christmas Gift?
• What Christmas Song Drives You Crazy?
• What’s Your Favorite Christmas Special?
• What’s Your Favorite Christmas Song?

If you've got opinions about Christmas gifts, songs and specials, feel free to share them below, but please leave the earlier-mentioned topics of conversation at the dinner table.