The more the merrier - Anne Fine

Christmas comes but once a year. Luckily. Traditionally, families gather together for Christmas. In Ralph's case, this means ten or more relatives coming to stay, including nutty Great-Aunt Ida (the Home tell them to be careful not to let her out) and other weird adults and his ghastly cousins: Titania in her sick-making, frilly, fairy dresses, and twins Sylvester and Sylvia (it took till Easter last year before the family dog got over them). Jammed into one small house for three days of merriment and family fun, the TV on the blink and Mum on the verge of a breakdown, it soon becomes obvious that, in this house, more definitely does not mean merrier . . .