Love it or hate it, Christmas is coming - and the stress it can bring too: the long queues at the shops, the burnt pudding, the ungrateful in-laws, and the hyper kids who want nothing more than to run around the house trailing tinsel.

But before you plonk them, and yourself, and your in-laws, down in front of the telly, think about whether or not you might actually have more fun going TV-free this year.

Yes, there's not much worse than struggling to make conversation with relatives you're not sure you like - but how many times can you possibly watch Jim Carrey prance about as The Grinch without getting bored?

We watch an average of 30 hours of telly during Christmas week, but this much TV is nothing new to our tots, as the average primary school-age child watches four hours of TV a day, whether it's the holiday season or not.

And with recent research showing that all this telly makes toddlers more aggressive and less sociable, according to a paper in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, think about how much more stressful TV might make the festivities before you turn it on.

"Christmas is such a stressful period," says David Burke, British director of White Dot, the International Campaign Against Television.

"Everyone's trying to have the perfect' Christmas, so it's easy to see how TV could offer an escape from that.

"But you don't have to have a perfect Christmas. At the very least, you should have a real Christmas."

For you TV-addicts out there, don't panic: you don't have to throw your box out the window - just start a telly diet'. If you (or your kids) generally watch three hours a day, try tapering it down to one hour, and then filling the remaining time with other things you might like doing.

"There's a whole set of traditional things you can do around Christmas," says David. "Like going to church, going for walks, or visiting friends and neighbours."

But if your kids are getting a bit feisty and a walk hasn't calmed them down, why not encourage something more engaging?

"Try saying to your kids, let's try something different - how about a game of chess or cards?" recommends Ellen Currey-Wilson, a self-confessed TV addict' whose recent book, The Big Turn-off, discusses the benefits of raising a TV-free family.

"But make the plans ahead of time - don't just spring it on everyone," she warns. "If you have some sort of projects that you can all try to do, it'll make things easier. Board games and charades encourage you to look at and talk with one another, instead of just staring at a video screen. Home-made gifts take up a lot of time and energy, and spark creativity, too.

"Encourage the kids to do a magic show or treasure hunt, play hide and seek or build a fort. It can be messier than sitting them in front of the telly, and it might sound like more work - but it really isn't."

If you're worried that your children might get bored, and under your hair, without the goggle box, fear not, says Robert Kesten, executive director of America's Centre For Screen-Time Awareness, which promotes more reading. "It's not that kids have nothing to do, it's that kids have forgotten what they can do," he says.

"And because many parents today grew up with TV, they too don't know what to do. Our creativity, our ability to use our imagination to turn basic things into toys or games, is something that we've lost. And that's something that we need to find again - that's what sparks ingenuity and friendship."

What do you do if your child is begging Santa for the latest DVD of Harry Potter, or a Nintendo Wii to play with his friends on weekends?

Try not to give in, advises Robert: "Instead of giving electronics, which leads to them being more sedentary and solitary, give the gift of play. Organise a bowling night with the whole family, or instead of playing a video game of football, try going to a football match together.

"Families who play together, laugh together. And laughter brings people together. The best gift you can give is to show that you actually want to spend time with your child."

A quality family Christmas of screen-free games can sound too good to be true, and in fact giving up telly at Christmas can prove much harder than you think. Going TV-free requires letting go of your own stress and being open to new ideas - and staying philosophical if it all goes a bit pear-shaped.

"Don't expect it to run entirely smoothly," warns Ellen, who says she "had to learn how to have fun again" after ditching her set.

"People can get depressed because they suddenly realise they don't know what to do. Remember that you're trying something different and that it takes time to adapt.

"Don't expect too much in the beginning, but do give it a try. What do you have to lose?"

TELLY TURN-OFF TIPS1. Take the TV out of your kids' bedrooms.

2. Don't allow TV every night.

3. Make dinner time family time, not TV-watching time.

4. Plan ahead: look at what programmes will be showing, and watch only the ones you're interested in, turning off the TV once it's done.

5. Use the time you're not watching the box to try a new activity.

TV-FREE CHRISTMAS FUN1. Make your own table centrepiece with flowers and branches that you find on a walk or in the garden.

2. Hand-make your Christmas cards instead of buying them from a shop.

3. Turn your favourite photos into a calendar for the New Year.

4. Set up large pieces of paper on the floor of the kitchen with some paint brushes. and some festive coloured paint, and get your kids to make home-made wrapping paper.

5. Find some fun recipes and bake cakes and cookies in Christmas-tree shapes for your neighbours and friends.