US: The presents are wrapped, the bird has been ordered, you didn't do anything foolish at the office party and you're feeling quite pleased with yourself.
But if you live in America you face one more hurdle before you can relax into Christmas - the vexed (and vexing) question of tipping.
Deciding who should be tipped, and by how much, causes so much worry, guilt and resentment that almost half of all Americans have given up altogether, according to a survey by Consumer Reports.
Many people become friendlier at this time of year, especially if you live in a big apartment building where doormen, supervisors and lift-operators love Christmas like no other time of the year.
Everyone agrees that you should tip the people who work in your building, as a gesture of gratitude for their help throughout the year but also to secure their co-operation for the next 12 months.
If you live in a large apartment block, this can mean a lot of tips, and Darlene Orlov, who runs a New York art company, told the New York Times that she tips 50 people in her building alone.
"The numbers are just daunting. You have to think of it as the cost of living and doing business in the city," she said.
Once you've decided whom to tip, you must settle on how much.
You don't want to be stingy (you certainly don't want to look that way), but you don't want to go wild either.
Asking friends what they give is one option - but you can't be sure (a) if they are up to date on the going rate or (b) that they are telling the truth.
The tipping quandary is so troubling that the Emily Post Institute, which has been promoting good manners since 1946, has published a detailed guide to Christmas giving.
"Every situation is different, so let common sense, specific circumstances and holiday spirit be your guides . . . What to give is always an individual decision," it says.
More helpfully, the manners mavens have drawn up a chart with suggested tips for each category of beneficiary. The building supervisor, for example, can expect between $25 and $100, but a doorman will have to settle for $10-$80.
The barber should get the cost of a haircut, the dog-walker a week's pay, newspaper boys and garage attendants $10-$30 and your personal fitness trainer the cost of one session.
The au pair can expect "a gift from your family (or one week's pay), plus a small gift from your child", but a nanny should get up to a month's pay as well as that lovely gift from your child.
With all these targets for your generosity, the Christmas tipping bill can quickly reach $1,000, even if you exercise restraint.
Yet some Americans apparently can't stop tipping, and the Emily Post Institute warns against giving cash to your child's teacher.
"Check your school's policy first. Give a gift, not cash. Possibilities: gift certificate for coffee shop, bookstore or restaurant; book, picture frame, fruit basket or gourmet food item; or a joint gift with other parents and their children," it says. All tips should be accompanied by a hand-written note thanking the recipient for their kindness (real or imaginary) over the past year.
Even this, however, has become complicated by the fact that Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly has declared that a War on Christmas is under way and that liberals are seeking to undermine the Christian tradition by referring to "the Holidays" rather than Christmas.
"It's all part of the secular progressive agenda . . . to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square.
"Because if you look at what happened in western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programmes, like legalisation of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage, because the objection to those things is religious-based, usually," he said.
Until Mr O'Reilly started his war over Christmas cards, I was planning to wish the staff in my apartment building a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as I slip them their tips.
But now that Merry Christmas has become a political statement, I've decided to stick with the secular progressive agenda and stay on the right side of good manners.
