Anxiety UNWRAPPED

Does the thought of opening presents in front of others bring you out in a cold sweat? You're not alone

- Samantha Wood

The first Christmas I spent with my husband's parents (when we'd only been dating a few months), I unwrapped a pair of expensive RayBan sunglasses from them as they sat and watched, along with his sister and her boyfriend.

I almost burst into tears of gratitude, never having been gifted anything so swanky, especially by people who barely knew me.

As I jumped up to thank them for such a generous gift, they said that maybe I should open the packaging, as the present 'might not be quite what it seems'. All eyes still on me, I did just that, revealing a bag-for-life shopping tote - the sunglasses box just a vessel for neat wrapping.

We all laughed as I held up the tote bag and exclaimed that 'Oh, this is even better, I really needed one!' but I was deeply embarrassed. It compounded everything I hate about receiving gifts - being the centre of attention, the mild peril caused by the complete unknown, feelings of not being worthy of the gift in question, the inability to know how to react or arrange your face.