Somehow or another your mother-in-law always manages to snag the family Christmas celebration as her own, warding off your protests with a nonchalant “oh – you can do Easter” when you know very well that all the glory goes to Christmas. Make her nutty over the details you can pull off at Easter that will have your family (and privately, your mother-in-law) begging for more.

Easter is important, too

Just because Christmas gets more attention in the media and most people spend months preparing for it doesn't mean that Easter isn't just as important. In the Christian calendar, Easter is more important than Christmas because it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and the reason He was sent to Earth. Cling to that fact, if you need to, while you prepare the best family celebration ever.

The odds are with you

Christmas is so limited. Everyone is stressed, there are expectations they can't meet, and you can't get outside to burn off any steam. It's almost a law that you eat too much and speak too little. Easter, on the other hand, is laid back. No one has to rush home to put a bike together, and no one has spent money they don't have. There is no reason to drink until you can't see. It's finally springtime and everyone is gung-ho for getting outside (except maybe Uncle Ralph, but at least he can get to the cigarettes that he's been craving all afternoon-and you might still want to keep the Wild Turkey away from him).

Great food, great games, the best of times

There are lots of wonderful Easter recipes that can become as traditional as the Green Bean Casserole is at Christmas. And most of them don't depend on sodium-infused cans of pseudo-nourishment. Impress your family with a menu and a tablescape that will make them think you're the next Martha Stewart – minus the prison time. Filling your day with games for indoors and out will get people moving as one and bonding over some of the most hilarious moments your family has ever witnessed together. You'll have the adults feeling like kids again and the kids calling for more.

Attitudes be gone

The truth is that your mother-in-law and you are on the same team. You both want to be a part of a great family that loves to be together. Ask her to bring a spring salad or custard for dessert. It'll be one less thing for you to do, and she might even surprise you by telling you that she's still worn out from last Christmas and would like to work together on the next one!