Will relations with the other half flourish at this time of year, or will perceived mutual shortcomings leave things as frosty as a December morning? She’ will be looking for perfection in everything she does — shopping early, planning parties, creating magnificent meals and striving to be a wonderful hostess when the guests arrive; while he might just be happy to open the odd bottle of beer for his favourite uncle and take control of the TV zapper for the duration of the break.

American diplomat, bureaucrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger is reported to have said: “No-one will ever win the battle of the sexes —there is too much fraternising with the enemy,” and in response to that it might be best for blokes to just run the white flag up the pole, hold their hands high in surrender, and simply ask: ‘What do you want me to do and when do you want me to do it?’ Because the simple fact is that men just simply struggle to hack it at Christmas.

It takes them a month to decide to buy one present, for goodness sake — for the love of their life — and even then the chances or them getting it right are pretty slim, because they won’t actually go and start looking for it until Christmas Eve.

So what hope do they have of getting gifts for an entire family, let alone lining up the contents of the fridge and freezer for a four-day feast for a dozen?

So should we even try to raise expectations or do we simply have to accept that one person will be running the whole show with military precision while the other’s mind will be drifting towards the Boxing Day football or mastering their son’s latest X-Box game?

By taking a reality check, both parties can manage all situations and avoid full-scale war breaking out.

First up, men just don’t like shopping, so what incentive is there for them to venture into the stores any sooner than Christmas Eve.

It is in his blood, apparently, right from the time when two grunts or three signified a lengthy conversation in the wake of a hard day’s work hunting with his spear or club.

A quick kill, back home, and then out with the lads to compare notes — sign language, of course, being the chosen form of conversation. Re-enactments from ancient times have been handed down so that the size of fish (and other things), the method of stalking and overcoming prey and the greatest sporting triumph, can all be shared with pals without having to break into words of more than one syllable.

Glance in the opposite direction, however, and you will find the women deeply involved in an earnest conversation about the search for something tasty, before they head off, fully focused on securing it, their direction based on some information passed on by a previous ‘shopper’ who spotted something special deep in the wood. They might not even know what they’re looking for, but when they see it — wow — will they celebrate the moment!

The interesting concept of wrapping presents is also a perfect illustration of the gulf.

Anyone who has received a present from a teenage lad will identify with the almost panic-stricken dash from back door to kitchen, where a roll of tin foil will be wrenched from a drawer and slapped round a bottle of smelly stuff (heaven forbid he can remember the name of the perfume – or was it eau de toilette? – the earnest shop assistant has helped him select).

But, again, you only have to go back to ancient man to discover why women, on the other hand, take great delight in selecting the paper, ribbon and label and then spend time carefully folding and taping the gift.

The reason? It’s because man’s eyes are constructed for long-range use, peering into the distance for potential killings, leaving the women to complete the close-up business of preparation and serving once it’s been hauled back to base camp.

There is also a biological reason for women being better suited to putting colours together, making them good at decorations and colour co-ordinated table settings.

The X chromosome in DNA offers a clue, with the retina containing about 130 million cells to sort out black and white, and seven million to process colour. Blokes don’t really stand a chance, do they, having as they do only one X chromosone, while women have two. That’s why a man will identify colours in the most basic way, while women can offer more detailed descriptions.

So there are all manner of reasons going back through hundreds of years of evolution that suggest the male species should really just let women get on with it — but does it mean they should give up entirely?

The advent of Alpha male has gone some way to restoring the balance of power in the Christmas stakes, but if he wants to ensure at least some of Dr Kissinger’s ‘fraternisation’ over the holiday period, he’d better acknowledge his rightful place, bow to superior knowledge and skill levels, and just get on with following instructions.