Are the holidays ever a little bit tarnished for you because you know you'll be dealing with some other people's kids who aren't all that well behaved? Perhaps it is a grandchild whose parents don't make him mind and their family will be staying for a week at Christmas. Or maybe you'll be attending a holiday party with some nieces or nephews or are on Santa's naughty list.
There's a lot of debate about what to do when other people's kids misbehave. Do you discipline them yourself? Or just pretend like you think it's cute when little Johnny is throwing food and screeching at the top of his lungs? Of course your decision whether to weigh in or keep quiet will likely depend on a lot of factors, such as your relationship with the parents.
There are some more passive-aggressive ways to deal with discipline issues if you aren't all that comfortable speaking up. For example, why not wrap up a parenting book, such as Carolyn Webster-Stratton's The Incredible Years as a gift for the parents? Too obvious perhaps?
Maybe a more subtle approach is to forward them some information on parenting tips prior to the holidays. For example, forward a facebook post about 10 Parenting Tips from Experts. Perhaps they'll think you just liked the article.
It's interesting how parents with different temperaments can have such different ideas about discipline and such a different tolerance for misbehavior. So, even when other people are raising their kids differently, try to remember, there are many different ways to raise a child.